Hello everyone! I will soon be mastering out of my astrophysics PhD program, and I am interested in working a data science position. I am wondering what the best course of action would be to be a good candidate for these jobs.

I have the following related skills:

• Mathematics: Calculus, linear algebra, numerical analysis, differential equations (ODE and partial), and some basic statistics (descriptive statistics, random variables, the normal and binomial distributions, random sampling and sampling distributions, parameter estimation, confidence intervals and significance testing)
• Numerical analysis: I took a numerical analysis class in undergrad and computational physics (Topics: Representation of numbers and errors; methods for the solution of nonlinear equations; numerical integration; interpolation and polynomial approximation; numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations; numerical solutions of systems of equations).
• Prog: Python (scipy, pandas, numpy, astropy, sci-kit learn), R, C , Mathematica, experience with Unix systems

• Additional experience/Notes:

  • I spent my undergrad years simulating variable stars with a modern 1D stellar evolution code.
  • My graduate work was more in observational astronomy working with FITS files.
  • I also took a "data-enabled physics" course where I gained experience using an MLP Regressor in sci-kit learn to apply regression to exoplanet data.

I am aware there are tons of recourses online and I would need to build a portfolio, but I do not know where to start.

I also am looking for an internship this summer (do you believe I can do sooner) and I am not sure what to look for in terms of what would be best for a data science career.

Any advice is welcome!