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I am a xamarin mobile app developer. But, I do not find my satisfaction in software development.

I would like to work in Machine Learning/Data science field. I have done some online courses and I am good in stats. Also, I believe it would increase my research and analyzing skills.

The company that I am applying for has openings for Xamarin developer. I would like to work in the company in a couple of xamarin projetcs. Then, I would like to make a move for ML positions in the same company.

Can my resume have aspiration role as a data scientist? I fear it might put me in a disadvantaged position.

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    If a company needs a developer, they are going to hire a developer, not a developer that wants to do Machine learning. It is not bad to put your aspirations on your resume or what interests you, but if Company A does not have a need for ML, they won't really care. – pm1391 May 26 '18 at 17:17
  • But.. Machine learning/Data Science IS (or can mostly be) Software Development. – Sandra K May 27 '18 at 3:03
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    that is not an unrelated field. unrelated would be cooking, singing, airline pilot etc – Kate Gregory May 27 '18 at 13:23
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    Software development skills could certainly be useful in data science for a number of different applications such as developing efficient implementations of machine learning algorithms using low-level programming languages or automating the generation of insights needed for business decisions. Many of the R/Python libraries used by data scientists and analysts are actually written in C/C++. – AffableAmbler May 27 '18 at 15:35
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    The good news is that there are opportunities to apply statistical techniques to problems in any domain. You don't have to be hired as a "data scientist" to use the tools and solve the problems. Moreover, most problems in industry don't require a PHD level statistician. Can you find a mobile app development job where you can employ some data science techniques? Probably. That would be a step in the right direction . – teego1967 May 28 '18 at 12:04
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Your resume should address why you are a good fit for the role you are applying for. Describing aspirations to do other things is at best distracting and at worst a red flag because it suggests you are not passionate about field you are applying for.

Don't put down machine learning and data science on your resume for a mobile app development job in the hope that they you can some day change to what you do at the company. Even if the do hire you, you're are setting yourself for tension because you and they know you want to move out of the job they hired you into.

It can be okay to want to do two different things. You can do mobile app development now and something else later but that’s you to manage that transition and not let one interfere with the other. The company wants you to be a great mobile app developer.

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  • Agreed. Focus on the job you're applying for. When asked about where you see your future in the company during the interview, that's the right time to bring up an interest in changing into a different field. Since the company also has an ML department, that opens room for future growth and shows that you have long-term interest in the company. – Llewellyn May 27 '18 at 17:18
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Write it down if it is relevant.

You do not need to have just ONE CV, you may taylor it to fit the position/company (of course, as long as you remain honest).

If you are applying for a position in which you believe your employer might benefit from your interest (for example, in a company dedicated to ML, or in a position that makes you interact with data scientists) write it down in the CV you send them.

Otherwise, as gwp's answer tells, any employer sees that career orientation will see it as a signal that you are likely to leave the company the moment you get an offert related to that field. To those employers do not include that info in the CV.

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If you actually want this jobs, there are two reasons why this may be not so good:.

  • it could appear that you consider this job only as a way to get into the company and would not be interested in staying a long time in the position you are interviewing for.

  • they could spontaneously switch the interview topic and test you there. Depending on the interviewer which you meet it could be your disadvantage to be interviewed about something where you only took a few online courses. I usually prefer to list such things as hobbies

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A company isn't likely to hire you for a position if you're not qualified to hold it, but that doesn't mean topics within your profession that you find engaging don't belong on your resume. I maintain a Professional Interests section that lists those things without any attempt to say how much knowledge or experience I have with them. Most of the things on my list are areas where I do have experience, but that experience is covered in the sections where the positions I've held are discussed. Earlier in my career I'd have said I didn't have experience with most of it.

There are two compelling reasons to list your interests:

  • Having them shows that you're a well-rounded professional or are at least striving to be one. The things you learn in pursuing those interests often inspire things in your primary work that you might not have thought of otherwise. Personally, I find well-rounded professionals better able to come up with creative solutions to hard problems than those who've spent their careers neck-deep in a single subject.

  • Companies often have things going on in areas that aren't listed in their job descriptions. All other things being equal, a candidate who expresses even a passing interest in any of those things has an edge over one who doesn't. Hiring managers may see your interest as an avenue for future growth. That's good for you because you might get to try out some of these things without jeopardizing your primary job by working alongside people who know the material. It's good for the company because you might turn out to be good at it and they now have an employee with knowledge of their business who can go straight to work on it.

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  • Would the downvoter care to comment on how this answer could be improved? – Blrfl May 27 '18 at 19:03

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