Here at NCEI, we aren’t just data—we are people. In our Humans of NCEI series, meet the awesome minds that manage one of the largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic research in the world. Get to know Myranda Uselton Shirk, a Data Scientist who specializes in programming and machine learning.
What is your job title?
Data Scientist.
What is your specific area of expertise?
Data science, programming, and machine learning.
What was your first job? How did it prepare you for your current position?
My first "official" job was working as a software developer for my university's library and makerspace. This gave me programming experience and a great appreciation for libraries and information services.
How did you end up at NCEI?
I started through the Pathways program, which allowed me to work at NCEI part-time while earning my Master's in data science. After completing my degree, I was hired as a full-time employee.
What does a usual workday look like for you?
Most of my days involve programming and planning projects. I meet with several different teams inside and outside of NCEI to discuss how data science methods can improve our workflows. Outside of meetings, I work on data science and machine learning projects while my cat snoozes on my lap.
What question are you asked most often when someone finds out what you do? How do you respond?
"Is climate change real?"
YES! I can show you the data.
What sort of training and education would one need for your job?
Data science or computer science background, as well as familiarity with library science. Knowledge of or appreciation for scientific domains is also important.
What inspired you to pursue a career in your field?
I got my B.S. in Chemistry, but quickly found out that I detest labs and prefer the data analysis side of science. After gaining experience in software development and later interning at NASA, I knew that I wanted to combine my love of science and programming into a career as a data scientist at a federal agency.
What projects are you working on now? Are there any upcoming projects that you are excited about?
Currently, I am working on technologies that will help NCEI transition its data archive to the Cloud. Some of my other projects include creating a graph database to show relationships between data products at NCEI and building a natural language search engine for the data.
What is your favorite aspect of your job?
I love the opportunity to access scientific data from many domains and the ability to work on challenging projects.
What challenges have you had to deal with in your career?
The most challenging aspect of my job involves the interaction between policy and technological innovation in the government. The slower progress of government agencies (as compared to the tech industry) was a pace I had to get used to.
Who are you outside of your career?
I play the clarinet in community bands, make and sell various crochet items, and sometimes work on writing a novel. I have way too many hobbies and somehow keep picking up new ones.
Pets?
I have two cats, a shy fluffy one named Ombre and a loud Siamese named SoundCloud. When the weather is nice, SoundCloud loves for us to take him on hikes.
*Please note that all of the information was current through the publication date.
