Ask HN: Maybe I'm just not smart enough?

Moreover, intelligence is not the same as wisdom, which is not the same as knowledge.

You do not need to be above average to succeed. Lifestyle, discipline, and understanding HOW to study are far more important at your stage.

Look into memory palaces, that might help. Also, successful (in this case, i.e., smart) people have a set timeframe every day to study, they don't study arbitrarily.

You're already ahead of most of the world's population.

- failing interviews is completely normal - especially if the interview covers broad theory or includes probability questions which aren't intuitive - practice more interview questions and don't stop interviewing

- don't worry about what your IQ is. One of your scores puts you in the 17th percentile for IQ, the other puts you in the 98th percentile. That tells you a lot about how reliable or useful IQ tests are

- getting your first job in data science is hard. I don't know anything about the job market in Russia but in the UK (and the US from what I hear) there are very few entry-level positions and many (way too many) people who are competing for them

You're about to graduate from "prestigious uni", so definitely intelligence is not something that's handicapping you.

How much hours did you put into DS in last 12 months? 30? 300? 1300? what's the scale

>I have trouble focusing, especially paying attention to details.

Maybe there's something distracting you?

Turn off facebook, discord, tell parents/home mates to do not disrupt you, turn off phone, ban hackernews/reddit, turn off steam, windows notifications

Didnt know what i wanted to do with my life for career, ended up wasting 4 years of my life working dead end jobs, then transitioned into software engineering, much happier now.

I would reccomend you write down a timeline, how many years are you willing to study/attempt to become a X, or get X job, before you would be okay giving up with that goal and doing plan B instead. Work your butt off until that timeline expires, and then, if you gave your best effort, you can be proud of your attempt but it simply wasnt in the cards for you.

Sounds like you've already been able to get some interviews for the positions you desire.

if i were you i would set a goal to apply to many more desirable positions, consider widening the scope of what a desirable position is to you. I would set a goal of applying to ten internships/jobs a day, even if these roles arent the ideal positions, your interview skills will improve and maybe youll be able to set up a job/internship to train you/pay you while you attempt to improve your skills in non-work hours.

Sounds like you have a confidence problem as well, dont check IQ tests online.

I beleive russias economy isnt doing so great. I would attempt to plan venturing into EU, USA, or some other better job market post-uni, lots of people do that after uni because their home countries lacked opportunities! Both my parents did.

Best of luck!

Brilliance matters more in job interviews; conscientiousness matters more in the job itself.

> "There aren't many DS internships".

This may be a problem with a lack of jobs, rather that about you. See if you can talk to the people you applied to and ask for feedback.

As for the rest, it's very possible that your problem is rooted in either your approach to preparation for the interviews, interview anxiety, or - as other have mentioned - possibly ADHD or something.

I will just say this: I've often found that ability to communicate clearly correlates well with observed intelligence (that is, people who communicate clearly are often good at "doing stuff" productively for various definitions of "doing stuff"). And your communication here, in English, which I'm assuming isn't your first language if you're from Russia, is good enough to make me think that "lack of raw intelligence" is probably not a problem. Yes, that's very subjective and vague, so take it for what it's worth.

One last random thought: I agree with the folks who said "see a doctor about possible ADHD". But in the event that you either don't want to do that, or can't do that for any reason, one thing you might try is consuming a little L-Theanine and caffeine together. The combo is quite popular in the nootropics world and is reputed to help with focus when studying and suchlike. I've used that myself and my subjective feeling is that it does help at least a little.

Combinatorics and algorithms are specific skills that you need some experience of (nobody has an innate talent for these, without learning them), and some coaching would be useful here if you haven't had formal education in them.

But - if you like making physical stuff, then maybe data science is not your passion? Your projects sound impressive but don't seem directly relevant to what you are applying for. If you have projects, but none that are relevant, this may open questions about your suitability for the field. I feel that these might be more valued in another field, such as robotics?

I'm assuming your first language is Russian and that you're speaking English as a second language. If true, you're writing is excellent. Producing something of this clarity and quality, in a second language, using a different alphabet, shows considerable skill and intelligence.

Interviews can be frustrating. There are some skills you can learn and practice that will help you be better at interviews. But also, interviewers can be bad at conducting interviews and so how well you do can be outside your control.

There are some aspects of interviews that some people find really challenging. Many people are nervous and anxious during interviews and this affects performance. Interviews need you to "read someone's mind" - they've asked a question and you have to try to understand what they're looking for in your answer. Interview practice can help with this.

Good luck!

Secondly and most importantly, if I were you, I'd forget about data science for the time being. Why do you want to do data science -- because it seems cool? Yeah, that's how I felt when I was your age. But after many years of experience in the industry, let me give you a word of advice -- environmental and market factors win over everything.

And as far as the market goes, there's no better labor market to enter than the generalist software engineer market. You want to enter a market where the supply is high so you can get a good entry level job where you can work with smart people and grow a lot. Really, the first job or two is always the hardest. You may have to move to somewhere in Europe (perhaps Berlin or London or something), or the US to do so.

Once you get experience there, it's a lot easier to move laterally into a data science job if you want to because you'll have real world experience problem solving. But my guess is by that point, you'll have lost your appetite for data science because you'll see the field for what it is -- a field that draws in people who want to deploy shiny solutions in need of a problem where there's way more labor supply than demand, which won't be good for your career.

Make practical decisions. I guarantee you're smart enough. That's not the limiting factor. The limiting factor will be your decisions and chosen directionality from this point forward. And personally, I think you'll have a much higher chance of setting your career up for success at this crucial early career juncture by becoming a generalist software engineer. Personally, I really enjoyed working in startups in my early career because they taught me a lot of lessons (some the hard way) -- but working at a nice mid sized or large company is probably the way I'd recommend. Best of luck!

I have a PhD. I have had titles like "Principal Data Scientist","Senior Manager, Data Science" etc. Most of my colleagues think I am good at what I do. I would absolutely fail an interview where they ask these kinds of questions. I would need to revisit my probability and other textbooks for at least a few months to be able to pass these kind of questions.

Being able to pass these types of interviews is a learned skill. I would recommend you look at it that way and disconnect it from "intelligence" or from the value you can bring as a data scientist.

As far as the slow thinking, most jobs allow you to think slowly and work through things. You can make mistakes and fix them. There is no job where somebody says "We will release the hungry tigers on a plane full of children unless you solve a algorithm problem in 60 seconds."

>In my country, there aren’t many DS internships, so if I fail a few more interviews, not sure if I can find new opportunities soon.

I think this is the root of the issue. If there are only a few internships and lot of applicants, the employers can be as demanding or as harsh as they want. So it's really a reflection of the job situation, not you personally.

Probability: For the Enthusiastic Beginner by David Morin is the book that helped me get it. It's got tons of examples and I felt like I could work through them.

Grokking Algorithms by me(!) is (in my biased opinion) an easier text for learning algorithms. Lots of pictures and examples. I initially learned through CLRS and did not find that one easy.

Just apply to hundreds of openings, if they're available!

I know the feeling, I’ve failed several interviews, most of them I was not able to answer simple questions, that feels devastating.

Emotions and anxiety take big part of it. Don’t worry too much about failed interviews, take note of everything you were insecure during the interview, later become an expert on those questions and try again.

Each interview could bring new challenges, but you will get to a point where you know what to expect, that will make it easier on the anxiety, and it will free your mind to use your brain for the actual questions and not insecurities inside your mind.

Keep pushing!

I tried to find reliable IQ tests online: got 86 and 135 on two different ones, have no idea what to make of it.

This is extremely typical of someone who is very bright and also has a disability. The term for that is twice exceptional.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice_exceptional

In such cases, their strengths mask their weaknesses and their weaknesses hide their strengths. They are prone to having average grades while finding some things very hard and others silly easy.

In such cases, if the disability can be identified, it can be extremely empowering and life works much better once that part is identified and appropriate accommodation arranged.