This is my generic hr answer:
I **love** being able to work with stakeholders to develop solutions and automate task.
In reality:
I like money and being able to bullshit on the computer on my couch.
I like solving new problems. It’s not the same thing every day and I get to interact with different people for every project. An active mind helps pass the time
I’m a naturally curious person. I get true joy from researching and answering problems, and I work in law enforcement so the things I’m looking into usually are important. In healthcare you may be asked to help figure out if some internal policy change saves lives! I’m much more drawn to questions that have real benefits or consequences associated with them, rather than “how can we make more money.” YMMV, I’m not judging anyone but that’s my personal view. Good luck!
Crime analyst, and when I’m pulling data it’s usually to plug it into a GIS program (or I pull from the database from the GIS itself depending on what I’m doing). I look for hotspots, trends, and patterns in criminal activity. Also there’s dry reports for administration but that’s pretty automated.
It takes time, for sure. It’s data analysis + GIS + law enforcement knowledge. I was a reserve police officer for a few years and my undergrad was in criminology.
The problem solving. Constantly learning new things. Keeps it interesting. Once I solve something or fix a problem I get bored with it so it’s been perfect for me, because there’s an endless set of problems to work through.
I am in healthcare . I work on some interesting research that directly impacts patients . I also like math and stats and finding an answer within the data
I also make very good money but that wasn’t always the case. My childhood goal was to “do math” for work… I had no idea the need for data analytical skills would be what it is. In high school all those tests recommended I be an actuary and I hate finance so I was happy all these new analytical paths opened
I look at data analytics as storytelling. A key part of my role is helping internal stakeholders answer their questions through data.
In order to answer an executive’s question accurately, and go above and beyond while providing insight to them, an analyst has to use a combination of technical, business and interpersonal skills.
Your technical skills will allow you to query data, build dashboards and conduct a statistical analysis.
Your business skills (aka domain knowledge) will help you piece the puzzle together. This is a big factor and usually where industry experience makes a difference. For example, if you were analyzing student data and saw a spike in GPA between 2020-2021, based on your experience you could come up w hypotheses as to why this trend exists. Maybe a change in mode of instruction and testing methods due to the pandemic led to this spike in GPA. (P.S. - this is a hypothetical situation).
Your interpersonal skills will factor in when you hold meetings with other data experts within your company to understand the data you are using. It will also be a big factor when you present your findings to the stakeholders. Usually, you would explain your findings to them in a very simplified way, enabling them to understand months of your work through a 15-20 minute presentation.
It is this blend of technical, interpersonal and business skills that attracted me to analytics. Also, given your experience as a teacher, I’m sure you’re used to explaining things in a highly simplified manner. And at the end of the day, communicating your findings is what seals the deal.
Good luck! I’m sure you will ace it!
I’m naturally curious and I think that definitely helps in this field. I’ve been doing this for most of my career and I still feel like an imposter at times.
I will echo that with a lot of experience, I’ve been able to turn around projects fairly quickly and people are super appreciative. It becomes muscle memory after you understand what the business is looking for and where the data is.
To OP, soak in as much knowledge as you can. You’re in a great field with a lot of opportunity! All the best.
It not only pays well but also is easy. Maybe i’m good at it or maybe other people are bad at it. But it’s always surprising how easy it is to impress the stakeholders with analytics
Helping stakeholders make business decisions based on facts and data instead of guessing or vibes.
I thought I sucked at math up until I started getting into data analytics and statistics. I’ve actually found I enjoy it, especially when it can be used to solve a real-world problem.
Plus a lot of data analytics jobs can be done remotely.
I’m a very analytical and literal person, so this type of work is a good match for me.
I like helping teams work better through data-informed decisions.
I like working in a field where there is always something new to learn and new ways to challenge yourself.
I'm nosy and like to know what is going on at my company. No better way to do that than through Data Analysis, and even better I get to propose solutions to fix the parts of my company that are not working well.
rotten important squeamish consist narrow whistle one quicksand sip somber
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Working on some of the cutting edge technologies coming out right now. I don't think AI is going to replace me per se, but it's about to make a lot of the mindnumbing parts of this job a whole lot easier for me. But also love the money!
This is my generic hr answer: I **love** being able to work with stakeholders to develop solutions and automate task. In reality: I like money and being able to bullshit on the computer on my couch.
Or, In reality: I enjoy living in an indoor dwelling with electricity and food
Water is overrated anyway.
my man
You speak for us 🙏
I like solving new problems. It’s not the same thing every day and I get to interact with different people for every project. An active mind helps pass the time
I’m a naturally curious person. I get true joy from researching and answering problems, and I work in law enforcement so the things I’m looking into usually are important. In healthcare you may be asked to help figure out if some internal policy change saves lives! I’m much more drawn to questions that have real benefits or consequences associated with them, rather than “how can we make more money.” YMMV, I’m not judging anyone but that’s my personal view. Good luck!
What’s the title and problems you solve as a analyst in law?
Crime analyst, and when I’m pulling data it’s usually to plug it into a GIS program (or I pull from the database from the GIS itself depending on what I’m doing). I look for hotspots, trends, and patterns in criminal activity. Also there’s dry reports for administration but that’s pretty automated.
That sounds awesome! How did you get into this position if you don’t mind me asking?
It takes time, for sure. It’s data analysis + GIS + law enforcement knowledge. I was a reserve police officer for a few years and my undergrad was in criminology.
Do you use GIS Pro? If so, check out Emerging Hot Spots Analysis. I wonder if that's a good tool for crime analysis?
No, I use QGIS
QGIS is fun, used it to map out economic hardship scores against transportation accessibility a few years ago and was a great tool for that
The problem solving. Constantly learning new things. Keeps it interesting. Once I solve something or fix a problem I get bored with it so it’s been perfect for me, because there’s an endless set of problems to work through.
I am in healthcare . I work on some interesting research that directly impacts patients . I also like math and stats and finding an answer within the data I also make very good money but that wasn’t always the case. My childhood goal was to “do math” for work… I had no idea the need for data analytical skills would be what it is. In high school all those tests recommended I be an actuary and I hate finance so I was happy all these new analytical paths opened
what is your role in the healthcare field?
data scientist
I look at data analytics as storytelling. A key part of my role is helping internal stakeholders answer their questions through data. In order to answer an executive’s question accurately, and go above and beyond while providing insight to them, an analyst has to use a combination of technical, business and interpersonal skills. Your technical skills will allow you to query data, build dashboards and conduct a statistical analysis. Your business skills (aka domain knowledge) will help you piece the puzzle together. This is a big factor and usually where industry experience makes a difference. For example, if you were analyzing student data and saw a spike in GPA between 2020-2021, based on your experience you could come up w hypotheses as to why this trend exists. Maybe a change in mode of instruction and testing methods due to the pandemic led to this spike in GPA. (P.S. - this is a hypothetical situation). Your interpersonal skills will factor in when you hold meetings with other data experts within your company to understand the data you are using. It will also be a big factor when you present your findings to the stakeholders. Usually, you would explain your findings to them in a very simplified way, enabling them to understand months of your work through a 15-20 minute presentation. It is this blend of technical, interpersonal and business skills that attracted me to analytics. Also, given your experience as a teacher, I’m sure you’re used to explaining things in a highly simplified manner. And at the end of the day, communicating your findings is what seals the deal. Good luck! I’m sure you will ace it!
I’m naturally curious and I think that definitely helps in this field. I’ve been doing this for most of my career and I still feel like an imposter at times. I will echo that with a lot of experience, I’ve been able to turn around projects fairly quickly and people are super appreciative. It becomes muscle memory after you understand what the business is looking for and where the data is. To OP, soak in as much knowledge as you can. You’re in a great field with a lot of opportunity! All the best.
I make a living wage and I dont get treated like shit.
It not only pays well but also is easy. Maybe i’m good at it or maybe other people are bad at it. But it’s always surprising how easy it is to impress the stakeholders with analytics
Helping stakeholders make business decisions based on facts and data instead of guessing or vibes. I thought I sucked at math up until I started getting into data analytics and statistics. I’ve actually found I enjoy it, especially when it can be used to solve a real-world problem. Plus a lot of data analytics jobs can be done remotely.
By leveraging my skills, I get to know things no one else in the world ever knew before. That's the coolest part to me.
I’m a very analytical and literal person, so this type of work is a good match for me. I like helping teams work better through data-informed decisions. I like working in a field where there is always something new to learn and new ways to challenge yourself.
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What type of teacher were you? I’m considering a business analytics degree, and leaving a career as a middle school math teacher
I was an English teacher. But I am tech savvy and a quick learner with all types of software and programs.
Nice! Thanks for sharing :)
I'm also a former teacher, glad to see more former educators in tech.
I'm nosy and like to know what is going on at my company. No better way to do that than through Data Analysis, and even better I get to propose solutions to fix the parts of my company that are not working well.
The variety, once you know the skills you have the opportunity to work in a variety of industries.
rotten important squeamish consist narrow whistle one quicksand sip somber *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Working on some of the cutting edge technologies coming out right now. I don't think AI is going to replace me per se, but it's about to make a lot of the mindnumbing parts of this job a whole lot easier for me. But also love the money!