I studied a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Mathematics and Statistics at ANU, graduating in Jul 2018.
I started at Quantium as a Graduate Analyst in August 2018, joining the Retail team for my first rotation where I began to learn the ropes of what it means to be an analyst.
In May 2019 I rotated into a banking product team where I got to experience life in Product Analytics. I loved the team and work so much that I decided to stay when I finished the Graduate Academy in Feb 2020. It was still an 18-month program at that point.
Quantium moves fast, so it wasn’t long (May 2020) and I was seconded to another Product Analytics team where I have been ever since. In this team, I have worked with numerous stakeholders from the client to our UX designers and engineers, as well as my analyst teammates. On this project, I have had the chance to work across a variety of areas from the front end (building the web-based tool for the client) right through to the big data pipeline that prepares and scores all the data for the project.
Excitingly during my time on this project, I was promoted to Senior Analyst, which has meant that I am now involved in more of the planning and management of my work stream, getting the chance to shape how and when we do pieces of work.
My typical day:
6.15 AM
Rise and shine – time to get up and get ready for some exercise.
6.45 AM
It’s gym time! I like to keep active as it helps me concentrate throughout the day and I find my general well-being is better for it. I love running and cycling, but lately, I’ve been using this time to get to a gym class.
7.40 AM
Home from the gym; time to shower and make my brekky before sitting down to start work.
8.00 AM
Work time.
I work with staff in our US office, so I tend to log on earlier to get in extra time for meetings and to answer any questions that have come through overnight. I usually try to keep my first half-hour free so that I can sit down, review the day before and plan for the day ahead.
8.30 AM
The team stand up.
At Quantium we tend to use Agile scrum ceremonies to coordinate our teams and projects. Stand up is a Scrum ceremony (a meeting) where each team member provides an update on what they achieved yesterday, what they’re planning for today and anything that’s blocking their work. It’s also a great chance for a bit of yarn – everything from sport (don’t ask me on this one….) or the latest fad (think Wordle or some other usually nerdy thing) through to our plans for the coming weekend. Stand up is always a good chance to say hi to the team and usually have a laugh.
9.00 AM
Time to code.
When I’m not in meetings or planning future work, I tend to find myself writing code. These could be tasks such as checking data pipeline outputs or altering our code base to add new features, automate processes, improve speed or (hopefully not) fix bugs.
Today I am working on improving the speed of the pipeline (it currently takes 48 hours to run!). This involves prototyping and testing small sections of the code, researching SQL optimisation techniques, and iterating until I find a solution that sufficiently improves the speed.
11.30 AM
Pride Leads catch up.
I am co-lead of Quantium’s Pride network, which means once a fortnight I catch up with my co-lead to discuss the plan for the network and any actions we need to take to help move things along. Today, we’re discussing what we need to prepare for our IDAHOBIT day event (International day against LGBTQIA+ discrimination).
12.00 PM
Lunchtime!
Time to step away from the desk and grab a bite to eat. When in the office I’ll grab some friends and find a nice spot inside; the booths are pretty comfy! When working from home, I make sure to step away from my desk. If it’s nice weather like today, I’ll eat outside, otherwise, the dining table is.
1.00 PM
Time for a couple of meetings.
This afternoon I have a project WIP (work in progress) meeting, a meeting with our engineers to decide how to expand our infrastructure and then a planning session for my work stream (the big data pipeline).
2.30 PM
Admin o’clock.
Often by mid-afternoon, I’ve accrued a list of admin tasks (questions, emails, etc.) that I need to do. Time to get to it – those emails don’t answer themselves!
3.00 PM
Code review + a cheeky afternoon snack (food is important…).
An important part of work as an analyst is ensuring the quality of the analytics we provide. This means we have numerous review processes, from code reviews through to model reviews (these look at the integrity of the models and their outputs). For my work stream, my main responsibility is to ensure changes to our code base are robust and sound – I.e. they don’t break our automated data pipeline and they calculate what we want it to calculate. Depending on where my teammates are at with their work, will depend on how many code reviews I’ll have to do. Today there’s a big review, so it will take a little while.
4.00 PM
One-on-one catch-up.
At Quantium, we really value catch-ups. These provide us with an opportunity to check in on our teammates, mentor or be mentored as well as see how we can collaborate and improve our ways of working within and across projects. Today I’m catching up with my Executive which has given me the chance to ask about the latest road maps for the project as well as get some guidance on how I can better manage and help my workstream get to where we want it to be.
4.30 PM
Wind down admin.
Time to revise my to-do list, address any urgent tasks that need to be done before the end of the day and make reminders for myself for anything that I need to pick up first thing tomorrow. I find this really important, particularly when working from home, as it helps me de-clutter my mind so that I can properly switch off and relax after work.
4.45 PM
Home time.
Time to “leave work”. When working from home, this means shutting my laptop, cleaning up my desk and leaving the room! Now time to unwind, eat some dinner, switch off, see friends or read before bed at 9:30 PM.