Starting your SEDS career
SEDS Alumni Network
Our alumni are highly qualified experts in the field of data science with a solid background in computer science and statistics, as well as social science methods. They work in- and outside academia. If you are interested in being part of the alumni network, staying connected with other alumni and get informed about the newest alumni events, please fill in the following PDF.
The SEDS program is challenging but flexible: You can get well prepared either for a data science position in the business/non-profit/public sector, as well as for a Ph.D. program that focuses on empirical research.
Career Prospects
The job profile "Data Analysts and Scientists" is listed as number 1 of the Top 10 emerging jobs with a growing job demand for the year 2025. Source: Future of Jobs Report of the World Economic Forum.
Individual Career Paths
Our students and alumni are pursuing very individual career paths. They are expected to assume multiple roles in an organization. For example, they work as data scientists, data engineers, machine learning engineers, data analysts, BI specialists, etc.
Different skill sets of data scientists
Deriving workable hypotheses
- Understanding business requirements and translating them into technical roadmaps
- Figuring out what data are needed and what story one can tell based on the results
- Designing practical approaches of data collection, model training and selection, as well as result communication
Organizing iterative and collaborative modelling
- Breaking down complicated data science operations with smaller goals: Proof-of-concepts based on small samples, plans for model training and selection, minimal viable products (MVP), productionalization of scalable applications
- Measuring the required resources and prerequisites for a task: Navigation through complicated data systems, integration of external data, possibilities and constraints of model choices
- Distributing tasks smartly to other colleagues, code reviews, and enabling
Output communication (Data visualization, storytelling)
- How to be concise, how to deep-dive in the evidence? How to design intuitive user experiences for even non-technical clients?
- How to increase the data literacy of your colleagues and clients?
- How to communicate the results?
Knowing and designing solution architecture
- Crafting orchestration for data and machine learning / statistical model life cycle: Extracting, Transforming, and Loading (ETL), as well as model training, tuning, selection, and serving
- Gaining proficiencies in advanced data engineering and machine learning engineering tools / frameworks
- Collaborating with other developers (backend, frontend, infrastructure, security etc.) with good practices in DevOps
Testimonials of our alumni
Timo Spinde is currently a Ph.D. student at the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo. He specifically focuses on media bias analysis, and founded his own research network: www.media-bias-research.org.
Why did you opt for the SEDS study program?
The SEDS programme allowed me to strengthen my data analysis skills. Before going to Konstanz, I studied Computer Science and Journalism, and wanted to combine both into working as data journlist.
How did your studies serve your professional career?
Mostly, the studies gave me the freedom to follow my projects. I already founded a small company during the program, and then followed up on that afterwards. Even more, the program made me even more interested in data science.
What did you like the most about the program?
The interdiscplinarity of the program was a huge advantage, and I was able to select courses based on my personal preference.
After being a software developer at CorrelAid, Jan Dix co-founded &effect in Berlin. &effect develops software solutions for effective decision-making in the public and social sector under the slogan “Data at the service of the public good”.
Why did you opt for the SEDS study program?
The SEDS study program allowed me to combine my interests for political science, data science and computer science. Additionally, due to the flexibility of the curriculum, I had the opportunity to study one year abroad.
How did your studies serve your professional career?
The foundations learned in the SEDS program helped me to start a career in software development. However, given the interdisciplinary nature of the program, fellow students started their careers in the private, public, academic, or non-profit sector as data scientists, consultants, or PhD students.
What did you like most about the program?
The SEDS program provides in-depth social science empirical research mixed with a solid introduction to programming concepts. I really appreciate how the program includes application examples from various fields in the course work and brings students from different disciplines together.
Qixuan Yang is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. Previously, he worked as a senior consultant / senior data scientist, focusing on natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning operations (MLOps).
Why did you opt for the SEDS study program?
The interdisciplinary approach and a wide range of course selections in maths, statistics, computer sciences, and social sciences were very attractive. I liked how the curriculum was crafted, such that the students can grow a deep understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of data science.
What did you like the most about the program?
I liked the flexibility of the program. It left a lot of room for the students to put together the portfolio they desire. I was able to learn about very basic math and statistics foundations for data science, as well as conduct empirical (applied) research on many occasions. In addition, there is positive peer pressure: I was very happy to study with other brilliant colleagues from whom I could learn a lot.
Learn moreWhat is cyberLAGO?
cyberLAGO is the network of digital experts in the international Lake Constance region and the central point of contact for all questions relating to digitization, digital transformation and IT.
We are continuously working on fostering the cooperation with the network in order to offer our students best conditions for an easy career start in the region.