A Ukrainian immigrant and Year Up United graduate from Chicago, Pavlo is building his career in data science at LinkedIn, and strives to help others achieve their own professional goals in the process.
As a Data Scientist at LinkedIn, Pavlo Tsiselskyi has a knack for finding solutions. “In data science, you deal a lot with different metrics, complex datasets, and ambiguity,” the Year Up United graduate explained. “It can be a very experimental environment where you need to rely on your skills and your knowledge, as well as your teammates to provide guidance and point you in the right direction.”
Pavlo has always had a strong interest in IT. When he moved to the United States from Ukraine in 2018, Pavlo began to explore different areas of the expansive field, teaching himself complex programming languages and data tools like SQL, Python, and Tableau. He was eager, but struggled to find an opportunity in his new country.
“I started applying to jobs and realized I didn’t have enough experience or business knowledge. I didn’t know how to navigate the corporate world—things like how to report data, send actionable emails, communicate effectively, and manage priorities.”
Taking His Data Analytics Training to the Next Level
When a friend recommended Year Up United, Pavlo decided to take a look. “I found out Year Up United has a Data Analytics program and I thought ‘Wow, this is a gold mine for me to gain that experience and learn the skills to get my career going.’ Finding Year Up United was really life-changing for me.”
I feel that I’ve received a lot in the past year from Year Up United and LinkedIn and that it’s my mission to give back, to be there for people, and try to help them as much as I can.
Pavlo Tsiselskyi
Data Scientist, LinkedIn
With the help of Year Up United's data analytics training, Pavlo thrived—able to build on his technical skills in data management and analysis, visualization and reporting, software development, and programming. He also gained valuable knowledge in navigating the corporate world, learning professional skills like business communication and networking.
“The skills that I learned at Year Up United, especially SQL, as well as understanding how to structure data and how to create insightful and simple data visualization really helped me move forward,” he shared.
When he earned an internship at LinkedIn, Pavlo dove in head first, relishing the opportunity to learn from his teammates and take the skills he developed in data analytics training to the next level. As an Insights Analyst, he was responsible for developing and monitoring business intelligence tools, making sure the data is clean, consistent, and refreshed on time. He analyzed volume, performance, and error rate of core LinkedIn products, providing key insights based on that analysis.
“It was making connections, and finding people that are happy to help and support, that were some of my biggest learnings from my internship—just having a great manager and great teammates, and having that guidance and the resources that I had.”
Impressed by his hard work and willingness to learn, Pavlo’s managers identified him as a great fit for an open role on LinkedIn’s Data Science team, and recommended that he interview. Pavlo landed the job, and joined the team as a Data Scientist two weeks ahead of his Year Up United graduation from the data analytics training program.
I found out Year Up United has a Data Analytics program and I thought ‘Wow, this is a gold mine for me to gain that experience and learn the skills to get my career going.’ Finding Year Up United was really life-changing for me.
Pavlo Tsiselskyi
Data Scientist, LinkedIn
Utilizing His Data Analytics Training to Grow and Excel in His Chosen Career
Today, Pavlo continues to make an impact at LinkedIn, working with people analytics to create reports and measure the performance of particular programs, build and optimize data pipelines, and help increase platform engagement. He hopes to continue to grow his career with the company, and to help others achieve their own professional goals—an exemplar of Year Up United’s “lift while you climb” model.
“I feel that I’ve received a lot in the past year from Year Up United and LinkedIn and that it’s my mission to give back, to be there for people, and try to help them as much as I can.”
He continued, “Say yes to opportunities, and do not be afraid to take on challenges. Always pursue your goal, and never give up. People need to build communities around them, and I think Year Up United is doing great work of teaching people how to create those communities so that they feel that they belong.”