A Week in the Life: Online MSDS Student Andrea Jacobs

Andrea Jacobs

April 13, 2026

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Growing up, I received mixed messages about whether there was room to pursue personal goals after having kids. My mother helped me overcome this and was a pioneer for me. She and I graduated with our bachelor's in the same year — May 2001. So even though the University of Virginia's M.S. in Data Science (MSDS) online program is challenging, it is rewarding to be the example for my daughter and teach her that we must put in work to achieve our goals.

I began the online master’s program in the spring semester of 2025, and I am currently completing my fourth semester. This program helps build my confidence in so many areas.

Andrea Jacobs and her mom standing together at her mom's college graduation — Andrea Jacobs (right) and her mom (left) both earned bachelor's degrees in 2001. Her mom taught her that having a family didn't mean giving up on her personal goals.

When I decided to apply to graduate programs, I made the choice not to return to work full time. I am currently moonlighting as a substitute teacher, UVA teacher assistant, UVA Student Ambassador, and Cville Sabroso festival director. Lastly, I am also the treasurer of a local non-profit organization named Sin Barreras/Without Barriers because immigrant issues are near and dear to my heart. I feel a deep personal responsibility to help my community.

As I pursue the MSDS degree, I am interested in these main areas:

Space exploration projects to better understand our universe
Analysis of large-scale voter data to uncover and address areas of inequity in American democracy, with a particular emphasis on the Latino community
Analysis and understanding of how linguistics in AI can help preserve indigenous languages that are in danger of going extinct

Weekly Schedule

Andrea Jacobs and her daughter dressed up for Halloween — Andrea Jacobs (left) and her daughter dressed up as characters from KPop Demon Hunters on Halloween, Jacobs' favorite holiday.

Every week looks different to me because so much of it revolves around the extra work I say “Yes” to, like substitute teaching and being festival director. It is not easy being a single-income family, so this helps supplement our household income, especially during that period of the year when camps and activities come with fees. It is crucial for me to find roles that give me control over my day because I know that I need to ensure I set myself up to complete the program in two years. This means structuring days in a format that makes it easy to move things around if I need to. I’ve learned that balancing any job, being a full-time graduate student, full-time parent, and supportive partner means you must be flexible, inventive, and roll with the punches.

Having not written any object-oriented code in over 10 years, it is hard for me to gauge how long an assignment will take to complete: a coding assignment can take one to five hours depending on how comfortable I am with the topic. It is different from my C++ and C# background; the coding syntax, library, and module in Python and R are different. I’ve learned to re-prioritize throughout the week and allow myself ample time to work on assignments.

Here's what a typical weekly schedule looks like for me:

Andrea Jacobs' schedule, including a family morning routine that begins between 7 and 9 a.m., housework, work, lunch, school pickups, family time, and study time. — Although every week is different, Andrea Jacobs structures her schedule to make time for family, work commitments, classwork, and self-care.

Community and Cohort Support

The virtual and remote environment is very ideal for our lifestyle. I am amazed by the connectedness of the online MSDS community. A majority of the cohort has been together since our first semester, and after a few breakout rooms and group projects, we get to know each other. The new friends I make in my cohort are a huge help with weekly study groups, group assignments, and just general moral support. Since I live near the School of Data Science, I meet peers in the in-person MSDS program, which is very awesome too because of the exchange of ideas. It is hard to make all the group events when one has a family, but it is nice to have a Teams channel or chat going in which you can post what help you need throughout the day.

Andrea Jacobs and other MSDS students at the 2026 formal event. — Andrea Jacobs (center) and fellow MSDS students enjoying the 2026 UVA Data Science Graduate Formal.

I really appreciate the free tutors provided by the program for when I am really stuck or want a deeper understanding of a topic. The professors and teacher assistants of each class have their own office hours and record them, which is a huge help for when I miss them. The availability of the lecture recordings is very helpful too.

Lastly, the career services events are very effective. The events that they host, virtually and in person, are always very informative. I meet and am introduced to very interesting companies and research topics. This keeps me in a state of being intrigued and constantly reflecting on where I would like my next chapter to go as I get closer to completing this one.