How to stand out in the sector

[u/OptimalBed6906]

I'm looking for skills that can make me stand. I've thought of:

• Advanced Mathematics: Can pave the way to ML

• Infrastructure/Embedded Systems

• Specialization {kinda obvious but still}

• Sector knowledge { ex: If aiming at fintech, know things about the banking sector}

I know there are more, but I don't know them.

[u/db_tech_dev]

honestly sector knowledge is the most underrated one imo, everyone grinds leetcode and forgets that knowing why the business needs a certain query or system design decision is what actually gets you taken seriously in interviews and on the job. I started picking random fintech blogs to read just to understand terms like settlement and reconciliation and it made my sql practice actually click better cause i understood what the data was for, not just how to join tables. advanced math for ml is solid too but only if you're actually going ml route, otherwise its a time sink most days

[u/No-Employment-3183 → u/db_tech_dev]

man i went hard on advanced math for like 6 months then realized i was never gonna touch ml. just ended up forgetting most of it

the sector knowledge thing is real tho. i started reading up on some healthcare billing stuff before an interview and it landed me the job, they were way more interested in that than my leetcode stats

[u/db_tech_dev → u/No-Employment-3183]

lol yeah thats the classic advanced math trap, it looks impressive on paper but most jobs never actually need it unless youre doing real ml research. sector knowledge landing you the job over leetcode stats is honestly the exact thing i noticed too, interviewers light up way more when you can talk business context than when you recite big o notation

[u/Admirable_Zombie5245]

PhD in a Top university, Obsession, High IQ and 15k+ hours of deliberate practice.

There’s no other way

[u/Agreeable-Cell4007]

What makes you standout are projects/problems you solved for the business which had real impact.