If you’re aiming for your first Data Science role, here’s why you should avoid typical guided projects

Everyone’s doing “Titanic Survival Prediction” or “Iris Flower Classification” these days.

But are these really projects?
Or just red flags?

Remember: Your projects show YOUR skills.

So what’s wrong with these?

Don’t think from your perspective — think like a hiring manager.

These projects have millions of tutorials and notebooks online.

Even if half those people actually built them, imagine how many identical projects hiring managers have already seen.

When recruiters sift through hundreds of resumes daily, seeing the same “Titanic” or “Iris” projects makes you blend in — not stand out.

They instantly know these are basic, publicly available projects.

So how can they trust your skills or creativity based on something so common?

What value does a standard Titanic analysis bring to their company’s unique problems?

Doing these guided projects traps you in a huge pool of competition.

Don’t rely on them for your portfolio or resume.

Guided projects are great for learning and practicing, but you need to build original, meaningful projects that solve real or unique problems to truly impress.

Show your problem-solving, creativity, and ability to handle messy data.

That’s what makes hiring managers take notice.

Build projects that speak your skills — not just follow tutorials. ❤️