{"582926":{"#nid":"582926","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Meet College of Sciences Alumna Becky Tucker, Senior Data Scientist at Netflix","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tuckerbecky\u0022\u003ERebecca S. \u0026ldquo;Becky\u0026rdquo; Tucker\u003C\/a\u003E is a senior data scientist at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/\u0022\u003ENetflix\u003C\/a\u003E, an entertainment company based in California. After Tucker obtained a B.S. in Physics in 2008 from Georgia Tech, she continued graduate studies at California Institute of Technology, earning a Ph.D., Physics, in 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETucker attended \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www2.champaignschools.org\/schools\/home\/?id=31\u0022\u003ECentennial High School, in Champaign, Illinois\u003C\/a\u003E. She lives in Los Angeles.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat attracted you to Georgia Tech? What is the most important thing you learned at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI originally applied to Georgia Tech to become an aerospace engineer, because it had one of the best programs in the country. Additionally, I was accepted in Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/stampsps.gatech.edu\/node\/14\u0022\u003EPresident\u0026rsquo;s Scholars Program\u003C\/a\u003E, which made it financially possible for me to attend.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the most important things I learned was what I \u003Cem\u003Edidn\u0026rsquo;t\u003C\/em\u003E want to do. During a summer internship with an aerospace company, I realized that day-to-day of engineering was not as interesting to me as the math and physics behind it. I switched out of engineering and into physics in my sophomore year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is a vivid memory of your time at Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI always remember the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/traditions.gatech.edu\/whistle.html\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech whistle\u003C\/a\u003E and how it set the rhythm of my day. My feelings about the whistle changed every year. At first I thought it was just a neat tradition, but soon I began to dread the fact that it woke me up every morning. (I made the very common mistake of not prioritizing sleep in my first few semesters at Tech.) By the end of my four years at Tech, I had come to regard it as a friendly, if insistent, reminder to keep making progress throughout my day.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat roles did your Georgia Tech education and experience play in your journey to your current position? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI got to my current position as a data scientist through the relatively circuitous route of a physics Ph.D. I would never have been able to get my Ph.D. without the help of Dr. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/james-sowell\u0022\u003EJames Sowell\u003C\/a\u003E, who was one of the few physics faculty at the time who accepted undergraduates as researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWorking with Dr. Sowell on binary stars was my introduction to scientific research. I liked it so much that I decided to continue doing research by going to graduate school. Dr. Sowell also mentored me and encouraged me to participate in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/crssprgm\/reu\/\u0022\u003ENSF Research Experience for Undergraduates\u003C\/a\u003E program. Without those research experiences, I likely would not have been accepted at Caltech, where I did my Ph.D. in experimental cosmology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you like most about your current job? The least?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI consider myself extremely fortunate to work for Netflix as a data scientist. My job is fast-paced and intellectually satisfying. I work with an incredibly talented team of data scientists in a culture that encourages experimentation and exploration.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe thing I like least about my job is the commute! I suppose that\u0026rsquo;s the price you pay for living in Los Angeles.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been the greatest challenge in your professional life so far? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe greatest challenge of my professional life so far was my decision to leave academia and look for a job in industry. I deeply enjoyed cosmology and research, but a future career in science seemed, at best, uncertain and, at worst, impossible.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn my final year of graduate school, my team\u0026rsquo;s experiment was scheduled to be deployed from McMurdo station in Antarctica after many years of work. Unfortunately, this was in 2013, when Congress decided \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/10\/01\/us\/politics\/congress-shutdown-debate.html?_r=0\u0022\u003Eto shut down the federal government\u003C\/a\u003E. As a result, the entire Antarctic science program was canceled for the year, which ultimately delayed our project for two more years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis episode is emblematic of how science is currently conducted in this country. A career in academic research almost entirely depends on the whims of funding agencies, and the rug can be pulled out from underneath you at any moment. This, coupled with the lack of tenure-track jobs in my field, is why I ended up working as a data scientist rather than as a physicist.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat has been the most gratifying experience of your professional career so far? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most gratifying experience of my professional career so far was my participation in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/insightdatascience.com\/\u0022\u003EInsight Data Science Fellows Program\u003C\/a\u003E, which helps academic scientists make the transition into industry careers in data science.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI participated in the early days of the program, when these types of programs were not as well-known as they are now. I felt that I was taking a calculated risk, and that by doing so I was taking control of and responsibility for my own career path. The eight weeks of that program involved 80-hour weeks and an exhilarating amount of new information and skills. It culminated with an interview with Netflix, which is where I currently work.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have taken an alternative career path, what would you be doing instead?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI love data science, and I can\u0026rsquo;t really imagine doing anything else. My job involves a lot of statistics and machine learning, which in retrospect would have been equally as enjoyable and certainly more relevant than physics as a field of study. However, I do find myself growing more and more interested in entrepreneurship and can imagine a future in which I start my own company.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat advice would you give to incoming first-year students at Georgia Tech?\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESleep! Courses at Tech are difficult and stressful (but rewarding). I guarantee that they will feel worse if you are not getting enough sleep. Try to be in bed by midnight or 1 a.m. every night.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMore philosophically, I encourage all young people to embrace failure. The fear of failure is paralyzing and will prevent you from doing your best work. Look for opportunities to do things you aren\u0026rsquo;t already good at\u0026mdash;this is where growth happens. Most success stories are really a long string of failures that lead to final success; learn from your failures and you will eventually accomplish what you set out to do.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u0026rsquo;s something about yourself that\u0026rsquo;s not obvious to your colleagues?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI love to be outdoors and to travel. Last year I backpacked through the Grand Canyon and hiked around Mont Blanc in Switzerland. Next month I am going trekking in New Zealand.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have dinner with any person from history, whom would you invite?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile I\u0026rsquo;d love to have a roundtable with \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.biography.com\/people\/ada-lovelace-20825323\u0022\u003EAda Lovelace\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ameliaearhart.com\/\u0022\u003EAmelia Earhart\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nobelprize.org\/nobel_prizes\/physics\/laureates\/1903\/marie-curie-bio.html\u0022\u003EMarie Curie\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.agnesscott.edu\/lriddle\/women\/noether.htm\u0022\u003EEmmy Noether\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Florence-Nightingale\u0022\u003EFlorence Nightingale\u003C\/a\u003E, for a dinner companion you can\u0026rsquo;t beat \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/food\/chefs\/julia-child\/\u0022\u003EJulia Child\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Advice to students: Look for opportunities to do things you aren\u2019t already good at"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tuckerbecky\u0022\u003ERebecca S. \u0026ldquo;Becky\u0026rdquo; Tucker\u003C\/a\u003E is a senior data scientist at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/\u0022\u003ENetflix\u003C\/a\u003E, an entertainment company based in California. After Tucker obtained a B.S. in Physics in 2008 from Georgia Tech, she continued graduate studies at California Institute of Technology, earning a Ph.D., Physics, in 2014.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Advice to students: Look for opportunities to do things you aren\u2019t already good at"}],"uid":"32896","created_gmt":"2016-10-21 16:15:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-27 13:06:26","author":"Matt Barr","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-10-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"582925":{"id":"582925","type":"image","title":"Becky Tucker","body":null,"created":"1477066409","gmt_created":"2016-10-21 16:13:29","changed":"1477066409","gmt_changed":"2016-10-21 16:13:29","alt":"","file":{"fid":"222210","name":"Tucker.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Tucker.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Tucker.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":73385,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Tucker.jpg?itok=gZIaFKaU"}}},"media_ids":["582925"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"172541","name":"Becky Tucker"},{"id":"172542","name":"Netflix"},{"id":"506","name":"alumni"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}