Kevin Wee
Tell us about yourself.
I am Kevin Wee and my Chinese name is 黃克文. I’m based in Chicago, Illinois, and I currently work at Capital One as a Lead BI Analyst. Before my current job, I was a PhD in Chemistry at Purdue University, Indiana.
How did you hear about DVS?
It was through a social media post by Amy, Mollie, and Elijah in 2019 that they founded DVS. I decided to join DVS to switch careers from chemistry to data visualization. Around the same time, I started learning Tableau and building my data visualization skills and portfolio.
What has been the most beneficial aspect of being a DVS member?
The DVS Slack helped me land my current job. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I diligently shared my portfolio work in the #location-chicago channel. Kevin Ford, another active DVS member, saw my activities and contacted me for a coffee chat. He learned that we had a similar background in chemistry and that I wanted to switch my career out of academia. So, he asked if I was interested in starting a data career at Discover. Long story short, I joined the company and worked in Ford’s team as a Senior BI analyst! (Since then, Ford has switched teams, I have been promoted to a Lead position, and Discover was acquired by Capital One in 2025.)
Nowadays, it’s much easier to get a job if you know someone who knows someone who has a job to offer. In my case, that “someone” was a DVS member and my then co-manager!
I also got a ticket discount to attend the Outlier conference as a DVS Plus member. Outlier highlights how diverse and inclusive the practice can be. It isn’t just about seeing people who create dashboards—but people who work with data about health, historical events, or race cars. DVS attracts people of all sorts and exposes me to new ideas, perspectives, tools, and industries.
The DVS Slack helped me land my current job. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I diligently shared my portfolio work in the #location-chicago channel. Kevin Ford, another active DVS member, noticed my activities and contacted me for a coffee chat. He learned that we had a similar background in chemistry and that I wanted to switch my career out of academia. So, he asked if I was interested in starting a data career at Discover. Long story short, I joined the company and switched my career to Business Intelligence Analytics.