Being stressed is a feeling caused by overwhelming situations and is usually present when people don't know how to manage mental or emotional pressure. In other words, it manifests in our bodies when we feel mental or emotional tension.
People can be stressed in different situations and not everyone reacts to the same things the same way. For instance, someone can find roller coasters very stressful, others are triggered by exams, some could feel stressed before a presentation or a deadline, and so on.
It manifests differently but it can harm equally. If you are a person that becomes stressed easily, then you should figure out a way to control it before it controls you. Being constantly stressed can be deteriorating to your physical and mental health, even when it doesn't seem like it.
In this article, you'll find information on how stressful a job in data science can be, how harmful being stressed can be to your health, how to find ways to control it, and some tips to cope with a new gig.
Are you interested in a career in Data Science?
How stressful can your data science job be?
An activity can be as stressful as the person allows it to be.
Many students believe that there are some jobs and careers in the market that are way more complicated and stressful than others. However, this is far from being true.
Any job can be stressful and any job can not be. It all depends on the person working and how they manage their responsibilities. If you tend to get tense with deadlines, pressure, big responsibilities, speaking in public, and more, then you should focus on conquering your fears because if not, then stress will rule your life.
With that being said, we would like to point out that data science is a complicated and demanding field of work. You'll be in charge of developing algorithms, working with programming languages (like Phyton or Java), coming up with systems, software, and models for data processing, and so on.
This job is not impossible to do, it is only challenging. Data scientists are under a lot of pressure because the information they collect, process, and analyze, can change the course of a business or company. These analytics are incredibly valuable and you'd be in charge of understanding and communicating it.
Having a lot of responsibilities can seem like a stressful thing but it doesn't have to be if you learn how to manage.
Learn about the jobs you could pursue with a major in data science.
How harmful can it be to your health?
As you could see, data scientists are under a lot of pressure because their role in a company includes big responsibilities and they're always expected to solve different problems. The field of data science is fast-paced, demanding, and challenging.
Learning to perform your responsibilities correctly can take some time too and that can add to your stress. However, you need to remember that you are not a machine and that working is important but it is not worth sacrificing your health.
Besides, learning is a process and you shouldn't feel overwhelmed if you make a couple of mistakes as soon as you start to work as a data scientist or analyst.
Feeling stress now and then is not an issue. You are allowed to feel scared or challenged throughout your career and especially if you start a new job. Data science jobs can also be intimidating and getting up to speed is a process.
However, the ongoing feeling can cause serious health problems. Some of these are:
- Cardiovascular disease - you could get high blood pressure, the risk for heart attacks, stroke, abnormal heart rhythms, and more.
- Eating disorders - stress can cause obesity or weight loss.
- Gastrointestinal issues - such as GERD, gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable colon.
- Mental health issues - it can cause depression, anxiety, personality disorders, dissociation, and more.
- Menstrual issues - you could stop menstruating, have irregular periods, painful cramps, and more.
You need to embark on the new adventure with intelligence and serenity, or else you'll get on a stressful mode from the beginning and this can not only cause a problem to your health but also your performance in your job and therefore, in your salary.
If your job is too stressful then you need to find support from your team, someone else in the company, others in the same field or business, or from people outside of work.
Keep in mind that companies have internal programs to help their employees solve their problems.
What is the salary of data scientists?
Learn to manage the stress
Before you get a chronic disease, there are plenty of things you can do to learn to manage your stress. The first step is recognizing if you're feeling stressed and what is causing it.
You need to pay attention to your physical and mental feelings while you're working, eating, commuting, showering, trying to sleep, socializing, and so on.
People usually experience different symptoms but some of those could be eating too much or not eating enough, sleeping too much or not sleeping enough, irritability, anxiety, getting headaches, and more.
Once you assess and learn what is causing the problem you can take measures to control and stop it. If you recognize that you're stressed, then try some of the following activities:
- Exercise - working out can make you unburden some of the things you are feeling.
- Take time for a hobby - taking some time to do something you enjoy not because you have to but because you want to can also help.
- Avoid getting stressed - learn what things trigger you and avoid them. You can't avoid much at the office but you could avoid any problem in your personal life.
- Recognize the things you can't change - this doesn't mean giving up, it just means giving in. Learn about the different roles in your company and learn what's your role, and take the highway when needed.
- Healthy diet - if you feed your body with nutrients you'll be healthy and statistical analysis has shown that people with healthy diets have better health.
It's not about making big changes in your life, it's just about adapting to the new routine and prioritizing your health. You should focus on developing skills to support you when you're stressed as much as you work to develop your data scientist skills.
Learn what are the top universities in the United States for data science.
Tips to cope with your new job
Starting a new gig can be exciting but overwhelming.
Many data scientists think that they should only focus on their new responsibilities, learning their role in the company, and answering their questions regarding the work.
However, starting a new job is also about finding role models, learning new ways of doing things, adapting to a new schedule and a new environment, and more.
As you start a new job, you should pay attention to all these details, and more if you want to succeed. Keep in mind that it is not about doing things fast, it is about doing things well.
Adapting to a new role will take developing a lot of new skills, but below you'll find a list of some of the things you can do to adapt quickly:
- When in doubt, revisit your qualifications - don't doubt yourself as a data scientist, you've earned a spot in your team and you deserve to work for a big or small company and they will benefit from your hard work and intelligence.
- Make friends - having friends in the office is extremely important (for all the careers in the world) because being friends with other data scientists will help you feel less alone.
- Talk about your struggles - if you keep things bottled up you might explode eventually. This is why you should voice your top questions, concerns, salary expectations, or other things with your team members, other data scientists, or a psychologist.
- Trace the source of your anxiety - figure out what is causing your anxiety and address it.
- Create alarms or reminders - to keep up with your new schedule and routine you should find some digital tools to help you stay on track of all the things you have to do.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
