Podcast Episode #7 : How to Generate Human Insight For Careers In A Gen-Ai Forward World with Prakash Nadarajan
How do you reinvent your career in a world of layoffs, AI disruption and ever-evolving job roles—without losing sight of who you are?
In this episode of What Is Your Working Title?, we speak with Prakash Nadarajan, a Senior Data Scientist in Workforce Intelligence at Oracle, whose career spans higher education, startups, and tech. Prakash shares a refreshingly honest take on transitioning into data science mid-career—from learning to code during a global pandemic, to blending human insight with machine learning in HR analytics.
Whether you’re pivoting industries, building a new skillset, or mentoring others in transition—this is a conversation not to miss.
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Key Takeaways
🔄 Career Reinvention Can Begin with Frustration – real change starts when something no longer sits right
🛠 Build with What You’ve Got – your past experiences aren’t baggage; they’re your career capital
📉 Plan for the Drop – manage expectations, finances, and your ego before you leap
🤖 GenAI Isn’t Coming—It’s Here – use it to learn faster, work smarter, and think broader
🧠 Human Skills Still Matter – empathy, reflection and communication are still your best edge
🔄 Career Reinvention can Begin with Frustration
Prakash didn’t just wake up and decide to be a data scientist. The tipping point? A weekend hackathon where he and his friends prototyped a hiring platform—only to realise they lacked the tech skills to bring it to life.
That frustration fuelled a mission: “If I want to be the guy who builds things, I need to learn to code.” He enrolled in a bootcamp, dove into Python, and stepped into a whole new professional identity.
🛠 Build with What You’ve Got
Mid-career transitions aren’t about starting over—they’re about remixing what you already have. From stakeholder management to storytelling with data, Prakash credits his previous work in education and HR as key assets in the world of analytics.
“What got me in the door wasn’t just code—it was understanding people, context, and what questions were worth asking.”
📉 Plan for the Drop
Changing careers doesn’t happen on vibes alone. Prakash breaks down how he planned the switch: financially (cutting costs, saving 6–12 months runway), psychologically (expecting an entry-level salary), and professionally (building a portfolio that shows how he thinks).
“You won’t get hired for what you say you can do. You’ll get hired for what you can show you’ve done.”
🤖 GenAI Isn’t Coming—It’s Here
As an advocate of prompt engineering within Oracle, Prakash urges mid-career professionals to stop fearing AI and start using it.
“GenAI won’t take your job. But someone using it probably will.”
He recommends using tools like ChatGPT to build learning plans, stay informed, and boost productivity—but with critical thinking.
🧠 Human Skills Still Matter
From performance nudges to stakeholder conversations, Prakash’s work sits at the intersection of code and context. He reminds us that human nuance is still essential—especially in HR data.
“AI can crunch data. But it can’t read the room. That’s still our job.”
Tune in for a conversation that brings clarity to career transitions—grounded in experience, powered by curiosity, and open to the possibilities of both human growth and machine intelligence.
Connect with Us
🔗 Prakash Nadarajan on LinkedIn
🔗 My Working Title on LinkedIn
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Tags:
#CareerTransitions #MidCareerReinvention #HumanSkills #GenAI #DataScience #PortfolioCareers #LifelongLearning #WorkingTitlePodcast #WorkforceIntelligence #CareerDevelopment
