Networking in data science

Exactly how important is networking in data science when applying for your first job out of undergrad?

I know networking is always important generally speaking, but compared to an industry such as finance, for example, where you can pretty much network/cold call into some of the highest paying jobs (e.g. investment banking) data science is an industry with higher quantitative merit standards, where it seems just “knowing” someone won’t grant you an important job.

How likely would it be as …

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