Eagles Take Flight

Jacob Cacheria, Data Science/Data Analyst Early Career, Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, TX

Jacob Cacheria didn’t leave anything to chance on his transition from a B.S. Information Science student with a concentration in Data Science to a new professional working in the field of data science. He had been on LinkedIn applying for jobs when he saw that Lockheed Martin would be at the STEM Career Fair held at Discovery Park last spring. He registered for the fair, having previously applied for a job with the company, and planned to be at their table first thing. He knew that he needed a way to differentiate himself from the numerous applicants for the job. At the STEM career fair, which had been planned by the UNT Career Center, he spoke with Lockheed Martin recruiters, who encouraged him to join them again at their own career fair the following month in Fort Worth. This was his chance to put a face and personality to the resume and job application that he had submitted on LinkedIn, so he went and had several short interviews for a different job. Within days of that event, he got a call back on the original application he had submitted through LinkedIn. Looking back, Jacob says, “I think that going in person was the key to getting the callback. They could see that I was passionate about the data science position through my actions at the Fort Worth event.” He points out that his generation may think that it’s enough to use the digital world to find jobs, but that they need to remember that the people hiring did their job hunting a completely different way, so it will make an impact when you show up in person to meet them face to face.

    In fact, Jacob has been intentional about achieving most of his goals along his journey. In high school, his class visited a company, and Jacob made a point to introduce himself to the CEO and tell him about his goals to become a data analyst. Later he followed up with a “Thank You” letter, and the CEO created an internship for him. The internship didn’t have a title, so Jacob created his own title of Data Analyst Intern. He then set about using Power BI and SQL to create KPIs and develop interactive dashboards. He credits his ability to network and reach out to people for getting this internship and his new job.

    Jacob appreciates his mom for the great advice he has gotten over the years. With her background in technology in the information space, she was able to be a professional mentor to him. However, he did not want her to find him a job as he wanted to do that himself. Rather than using her network to find openings, Jacob created his own through his efforts, which led to his new position at Lockheed Martin. He will start this hybrid position in Fort Worth, where they do a 4-day work week. 

    Jacob would like to thank his advisor, Sarah Kim, for helping throughout the last 5 years of ups and downs. He says, “Ms. Kim was always there to support me.” He also appreciated what he experienced at UNT. He chose UNT for the community around it and says, “College is a time to figure out who you are and where you want to go. Everyone has been so supportive and loving here!”  He also says that the classes in subjects, like data visualization, were invaluable. He recommends working hard on class projects that show your abilities in tools, like tableau, so that you have something to prove to employers that you possess the skills they are looking for. Jacob feels that he gained good foundational understanding of many topics in the data science field through classes teaching data modeling/warehousing, information indexing, and data visualization. He says, “poking around in a major and seeing all aspects helps you determine what you are good at and what you enjoy doing.” Jacob is ready to launch his career doing just that.