Most data work seems fundamentally worthless
Working in the ML/data space and have been fortunate to have largely steered clear of this problem so far. My heuristic when evaluating potential jobs is only to consider positions where the output of statistical analysis and machine learning models has a clear and immediate impact within the organization, while avoiding adtech for ethical reasons and because of concerns toxic work could enable a toxic environment.Jobs like this exist, though you may have to take a pay cut compared to the bullshit. My first job after finishing my PhD was as a staff scientist in an academic lab using ML engineering + data science to support scientific research. There seems to be a fair number of grant supported jobs like this and pay isn’t terrible. Just under or just at 6 figures. You can make more in industry, but scientific work feels very meaningful.Now I’m working in credit risk modeling, something I never expected to be doing, but so far it’s been a good fit. The models are applied directly in decision making for the business, and there’s a real incentive to get everything right because mistakes could harm real people’s lives. The team I’m on is strong and ethically sound and I feel good about what I’m doing.For anyone in the data space who’s despairing about the state of the industry, non-bullshit jobs do exist, you just have to look for them, and use your judgment when scoping out new roles.