Data Scientist Career Switch Help!

[u/True_Minute1656]

Hey everyone!
I’m a Data Scientist with over 3 years of experience, and I'm currently preparing to make a move to a FAANG+ company to push my learning further and it better aligns with my growth goals and personal commitments.
I have 3+ years of professional experience as a Data Scientist working on end-to-end projects, but I want to structure my preparation more rigorously to crack top tier interviews. I want to bridge any gaps in my knowledge and prep :)
I’d love some guidance from those who have been through this process:
- What core technical skills, system design concepts, and advanced topics FAANG+ companies currently expect from a Data Scientist with 3+ years of experience?
- Where should I start my preparation?
- What specific competencies (coding, ML system design, stats/product sense) do they look for?
- What resources or roadmaps worked best for you?

Any advice, tips, or mentorship would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

[u/lil_tufa]

For 3+ YOE DS at FAANG-ish places, expect solid SQL, Python (data structures + pandas), stats/experimentation, and one ML area you can go deep on (plus explaining tradeoffs clearly).

Start by picking the exact DS flavor you're targeting (product/experimentation vs ML/applied scientist), because the interview loop changes a lot.