Maïté Allain

A graduate of Sciences Po, I began my career in project management in a Monegasque communication-branding agency.

In December 2015, I joined the Upward Group to launch the second unit, Upward Data, a recruitment agency specialized in Data Science and Big Data.

On a daily basis, I participate in the development of the Business Unit through client support, recruitment missions and team management.

I am also involved in various projects such as the Data Science jury for OpenClassroom or the Télécom ParisTech Data Business Guide.

Because I recognize myself and thrive on the Group’s values: transparency, kindness, high standards and ambition.

Upward’s highly specialized approach – from which stems a thorough knowledge of our markets – allows us to be very relevant in our support, which, in my opinion, is what makes this business so valuable.

We also seek to go further and participate, at our own level, in the ecosystems in which we operate by making the most of this expertise. At Upward Data, this has resulted, for example, in the publication for three consecutive years of a guide for companies recruiting in Data; or in the running of a Masterclass on best practices for recruiting in Data.

In 2015, Data was already a booming market that was making a lot of noise but of which many different and contradictory things were being said. I wanted to gain a better understanding of the issues, the businesses and the stakes involved, and the challenge was considerable.

After exchanging with a good number of Data professionals, we were able to discern general trends and disseminate this information to candidates who were having difficulty finding their way through the hundreds and hundreds of job offers. This was the reason for the publication of the first guide for companies recruiting in Data.

Today, more than ever, I appreciate the dynamism of the market, which is always on the move, influencing all sectors and professions; and our role, which allows us to have a 360° vision and to adopt a true support position, both with candidates and clients.

Data is a fascinating market but not an easy one to master because it is constantly evolving.

In 2016, the Data Scientist was the flagship profile and its role was still very unclear. Schools didn’t yet deliver master’s degree in Data, so professionals were self-taught; then the training courses took over and more and more candidates arrived, standardising the criteria somewhat (even if the title ‘Data Scientist’ remains a catch-all). We then realized a little later on the even greater lack of Data Engineers and their crucial role in providing access to clean and valuable data. And for some time now, new functions have even appeared, such as the Machine Learning Engineer, which is capable of putting Data Scientists’ algorithms into production in a complex environment.

In Data, nothing is set in stone!

Moreover, technological developments are constantly bringing out new technical requirements that need to be taken into account.

It is also important to bear in mind that in this young market, profiles are sometimes considered senior with 3-4 years of professional experience and that salaries can quickly skyrocket.

In order to properly plan its first Data recruitments, I would advise companies to define beforehand the challenges that Data must meet and the means it will need to achieve its goals, as well as its positioning within the organisation. It’s better to take time to frame your Data strategy, for example by calling on experts (consulting firms or freelancers), than to spend too much time groping around or to miss your first recruitments because you don’t have a precise idea of the market and where you want to go.