Why Kiffany, a Sr. Product Manager, continues upskilling with Udacity

Table of Contents

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• Discovering a New Career Path
• Learning with Udacity: Projects, Flexibility & Teaching Style 
• Bringing AI Skills into Product Management

When Kiffany Scammell was furloughed in 2020, she used the unexpected pause to reflect on her career path and take action. After discovering a newfound interest in analytics, Kiffany embarked on many Udacity courses that helped transform her career. Now a Senior Product Manager at Nordstrom, where she leads AI and machine learning initiatives, Kiffany shares why she continues to return to Udacity to sharpen her technical and leadership skills. Find out why she’s focusing her learning on AI, and her advice for others looking to upskill on their own terms.

Discovering a New Career Path

What prompted you to upskill with Udacity starting in 2020?

I began my career at Nordstrom 11 years ago in the buying office within the merchandising organization. My tenure with the company took a surprising turn with the onset of the pandemic when I was unexpectedly furloughed. Interestingly, just before the furlough, a VP had sparked my interest in SQL and organized a learning group using Udacity, a platform she highly recommended. I joined, and we began working through the SQL course together.

The three-month furlough became a period of reflection on what I was truly passionate about and where I wanted my career to go. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I rediscovered my love for data and math through continued SQL learning and additional Udacity courses in data analytics, visual analytics, marketing, and predictive analytics. This upskilling led to a new role at Nordstrom in data visualization, where I directly apply what I learned. 

When enrolling in the analytics courses at Udacity, was your career goal to land a BI or a data analyst role?

When I started my first Udacity course about SQL, I had limited exposure to data analytics roles and wasn’t considering a major career transition. While I had experience manipulating data in Excel, I hadn’t spent much time developing dashboards in a true BIA capacity. I stumbled upon these data roles during my furlough while I was enrolled at Udacity because I found that the data analytics courses made me happy.

Did you need any previous experience to enroll in courses at Udacity?

Not at all, and that was the best part. Before Udacity, I was reviewing options for 6-week courses in nearby universities, but I didn’t want to enroll in a pass-fail environment. The benefit of Udacity is that there is no failing. It’s all about trying and receiving feedback, which is closer to what it’s like in the real world. 

What are some of the tools, technologies, and skills that you've learned in this new AI portion of your coursework?

I completed the AI for Business Leaders course to get my feet wet, and eventually I'll take the Data Science for Business Leaders. I'm now moving into courses about product management and AI. I wanted to take a broad view of AI and then narrow down my focus because the work I am involved in is shared across varying levels of leadership. This helps when I’m working with team members on strategy as we find new ways of thinking about AI and what this looks like at Nordstrom.

These recent AI courses have helped me understand how to break downs very complex idea and share them widely with diverse audiences, accommodating varying levels of AI understanding. 

Learning with Udacity: Projects, Flexibility & Teaching Style 

What has the time commitment been like when completing these Udacity courses? Have you been able to balance work and life commitments with the courses?

I'm a mom of two little boys, so in addition to work, I’m managing daycare drop-off and pickup, illnesses, and co-managing the house. My company has been flexible about where I fit in these Udacity courses. The courses don’t supersede my work, but I try to dedicate time to the courses during the second half of my Fridays. I also try to work in micro-learning breaks throughout the week. For instance, when I work out in the morning, I listen to the Udacity lessons. Overall, I try to dedicate four hours a week to the course. 

What is the teaching style like at Udacity?

There are so many different courses at Udacity, but in my courses, I've engaged with pre-recorded video lectures. These videos give you an overall sense of what you’re learning in the course. There are also visuals and readings as well as supplemental documents if you want to dive in deeper. What’s nice about Udacity is there are multiple ways of learning within one course, such as video, lectures, a chatbot, and mentors.

Since I started taking courses at Udacity, it has only expanded its features. Now there’s AI chatbot functionality within the coursework that you can ask questions. It facilitates an easier additional learning functionality because if you need to learn a little bit differently, you can ask clarifying questions. 

What kinds of projects have you worked on in the Udacity courses?

If you’re enrolled in one of Udacity’s Nanodegree courses, they will give you very defined projects. I enjoy the short courses at Udacity because I can relate them to my job. For example, while I'm learning in the course and working on projects, I'm applying them directly to the work I do at Nordstrom. 

Does Udacity give you feedback on your coursework or projects? 

Yes! You submit the projects to the Udacity team for review and they will quickly get back to you with feedback. It typically took them less than a day to respond to my projects. They’ll give you very specific feedback on what needs improvement and refinement rather than a pass/fail. With this feedback, you can home in on where you need to push further.

Bringing AI Skills into Product Management

How do you see AI and machine learning integrating into your job as a Senior Product Manager? 

There are a couple of different ways that I use AI within my role. AI helps me structure my thoughts. If I have big ideas, how do I get them on paper? I utilize AI to help structure some of my thoughts and visions.

I also strategize how to use AI to solve business problems and solve problems for our internal stakeholders.  I love that I can use AI as a supplemental source, assisting in structuring ideas, putting ideas on paper, and research.

You’ve done quite a few Udacity courses at this point in your career! Do you see these courses as a better way to grow your knowledge base and propel your career rather than just getting project management certifications?

Right now, these Udacity courses allow me to be thoughtful and educated in conversations at my company about AI. What does AI mean for this company? How can we educate others about what AI can do? It helps me develop my career and become a professional who understands how AI is focused within product. It makes me more marketable and helps me continue growing. 

At this point in your career, was Udacity worth it for you? 

These courses have boosted my confidence. I don't have to go into a conversation and wonder, “When I say LLM, what does that mean?” When I think about different types of models and feedback and inputs, I understand them because I can visually identify them. I can think about them structurally. too. 

Udacity has also helped boost my career, my marketability, and my personal brand. Before these courses, I didn’t know what my brand was. Now I better understand myself and enjoy working in product. I have a better idea how I want to continue to develop my career and personal brand. 

You've had such an inspiring career progression at Nordstrom! What is your advice to someone who wants to strike out on a similar career path? What has kept your momentum going?

What has helped me continue my momentum is learning about things that truly excite me. Do things that make you happy and inspire you, and then you will enjoy doing the work. Obviously, that is easier said than done. There will always be parts of the job or the course that you don’t want to do, but figure out what brings you joy. If you're finding joy in what you're learning but it's not related to your current work, how do you find that crossover and create a niche role for yourself? Be patient and mindful of what you're passionate about to help it eventually come to fruition.

Is there anything you recommend incoming students be aware of at Udacity? 

Udacity courses are not a firehose of deadlines and material, which really works for me. I’m at a point in my life where I need flexibility in my learning. At Udacity, there are no true deadlines. “Deadlines” are given as encouragement. The important thing is to keep learning and enjoy the process.

Find out more and read Udacity reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Udacity.