nan | 楠木

4 months isn’t a long time for me to form any conclusive judgments, but I’d like to summarize some of my first observations of the industry.

• Data is important only to the extent that it serves to make a point.
  • As an entry-level employee, most of my time will be spent on juggling with data. It’s not a pleasant job. The data could be faulty. There might be no data at all. But in the end I’m not judged by how much data I could find; I’m judged by if I’ve proved the hypotheses or not.
  • Sometimes I devote too much time on one specific piece of data, trying to make it perfect. I should always keep in mind the bigger picture.
• You should be comfortable with your own analyses.
  • Often the approach for an analysis is given by the supervisor. The approach should be fine in theory; in execution, you should not be too rigid and end up not using your own judgment. As the person with the most exposure to the raw data, you should go beyond the defined approach and check if it makes sense; if there are any gaps; if there are any better approaches.
  • Some times the outputs of the analyses do not prove the case, or aren’t strong enough. You’ll be under pressure to adjust. While it is perfectly legitimate to revisit the analysis and try to make the result more robust, you should always be comfortable with the steps you’re taking.
  • Be rigorous and don’t be satisfied at the first output that seems to serve the purpose; it’s very tempting to call it a victory and wrap it up, but you’ll find that it’s better to check it again. The last thing you want is to have to be responsible for fixing it at the last minute, after the client has found an issue with it.
• It’s all about effective communication.
  • While as a junior employee you won’t be responsible for a lot of client interaction, you should realize in the end that the project’s success relies on effective communication.
  • As outsiders to the client’s company, we have the advantage of the fresh perspective; however we should bear in mind the client’ s own perspective. We are not trying to prove them wrong on every issue. Instead we want to help them make informed decisions about their business.
  • Unfortunately, we are not insulated from the office politics of our client. This means that we need to be extra careful in our client communication.