Career

Industry and science are flooded with data and are struggling to make sense of it.

There is urgent demand for individuals trained to analyse data, including massive and heterogeneous data. For this reason, opportunities are expected to grow dramatically. The interdisciplinary Data Science MSc programme will train you to work in data-intensive areas of industry and science, with the skills and knowledge needed to construct solutions to complex data analysis problems.
Career services

Studies are part of your career. At the University of Helsinki, all degrees include career planning. The Career Services at the University of Helsinki, in cooperation with degree programmes, supports the growth of your expert identity as part of your studies and with separate services.

From the start of your studies until one year after the completion of your degree, the Career Services supports your career path.

Career Services  

  • gives career counselling and job seeking support, 
  • arranges info sessions, workshops and events, 
  • provides suitable job and traineeship offers for students,
  • shares university’s subsidy for traineeships and  
  • facilitates group mentoring programmes.

Check out the Career Services on the Instructions for students “Work and Career” and “Traineeships”. 
Career prospects

If you are focusing on the core areas of data science, you will typically find employment as a researcher or consultant, sometimes after taking a PhD in Computer Science or Statistics to deepen your knowledge of the field and research methods.

If your focus is on the use of data science for specific applications, you will typically find work in industry or in other fields of science such as physics, digital humanities, biology or medicine.
Hel­sinki­UNI In­ter­na­tional Tal­ent Pro­gramme (HITP)

Would you like to build a career in Finland? Do you want to build professional networks during your studies and get valuable insight into Finnish working life? Then you should apply for the HelsinkiUNI International Talent Programme (HITP).  

HITP is a group mentoring programme where Finnish companies and international students are brought together to share ideas and to learn from each other. 

What will you gain from HITP? 

  • Successful applicants are placed in a group and assigned a mentor from a Finnish company or organization. When applying you can choose which of the participating companies interest you the most. 
  • You will receive support in growing your network among both professionals and fellow students. During the programme, your group will meet 4–5 times on the company premises. Themes for the meet-ups include a company introduction and an overview of current competency requirements in that specific field.  You will also get to present your own skills to the company.
  • When the HITP has been completed, the goal is that cooperation can continue between the student and the company if both parties wish to do so. 

More information about the HelsinkiUNI International Talent Programme.
Improve your career options with Finnish

Although it is easy for international students to get by with English in the Helsinki region, learning Finnish will significantly improve your career options after graduation.

The University of Helsinki offers free Finnish language courses for enrolled international degree students. The beginners and intermediate level courses are not only a way to learn the language, but you also learn more about Finnish culture and get to network with other international students across the fields.

Information about the Finnish courses for international students in the Instructions for students.
Postgraduate studies

After completing the MSc programme in Data Science, you can apply for doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki or elsewhere. Due to the high level of international recognition of the University of Helsinki and the data science research groups, you will have good chances to be accepted for doctoral studies at top universities. The additional skills gained in doctoral studies will not only be useful for an academic research career but also for work as a data scientist in industry.

At the University of Helsinki, suitable doctoral programmes include:

More information about doctoral education at the University of Helsinki.
Alumni of the University of Helsinki

After graduation, the world is wide open and full of possibilities. How can you venture forward to make the career path you want? What kind of work would you like to do? What kind of life should you lead? The Helsinki alumni community is there to support you as you transition from the University to the world of work.

All previous University of Helsinki degree and exchange students, as well as staff, are our alumni. As a member of the University of Helsinki alumni network, Finland’s largest network of experts, you get valuable support, knowledge and contacts for your working life.

More information about the Helsinki alumni community and its activities.

Find alumni of the University of Helsinki on Linkedin.