A little background:

I am currently a master’s student in an advanced data analytics program. This is my last semester of regular classes and then I have one more capstone course that I will take this summer which will complete my masters degree. I am also completing two professional certificates, one in Data Science and the other in Full Stack Development, which I should be finished with by the time I graduate.

At this point in the degree program, I have already completed all of the core classes and have a sound understanding of the analytics life cycle and processes. Additionally many of my classes focused on Data Science and machine learning. In addition to the theoretical knowledge, I’ve done multiple projects and case studies that are using current data and various current industry topics.

I have been applying to jobs and internships of all sorts for quite a while now. So far I have only heard back from a handful, and only had an interview with 2. I’ve been trying to build up my network as well, however most of this is online through things like LinkedIn and other career boards. I don’t really know the best way to go about this in person since my degree program is online so I don’t have access to something like an in person career fair. Are there networking opportunities/in person career fairs I can pursue that aren’t necessarily hosted by a university) During undergrad, I knew LOTS of people who had a full time job offer already before they had graduated, some of whom had completed an internship with that company, but also others who had just applied and got an offer.

Is there something I am not doing/should be doing to be able to accomplish this? I’m currently just working a sales job while I finish school to pay the bills, but I would much prefer to be doing something that is more relevant to my degree. Or is it unrealistic to want to get a job lined up before I’ve completely finished my degree?

Everything I’ve read so far just talks about how difficult it is to get a job right now, and how I’m competing with other skilled applicants. I understand that to a certain degree, but I still keep seeing all these open positions for data analytics and data science, so I’m also curious what y’all think about that.