Embracing Imperfection: Transitioning from Theory to Real-World Corporate Data

The first part of this article featured Micha? Chojna 's insights into corporate world biggest surprises. This time I want to focus on feedback form Maria, the other Junior in our team who joined us straight out of University.

Maria Nalivko started off a bit quiet, maybe even shy. She gained her confidence though and started showing off her technical skills. Always polite, very insightful and not scared to take on challenges. Proactively asking for more and more tasks to crack. Always there to help and ready to brainstorm on the tasks you get stuck on. She is the driver of her own career and a great team member.

Here are some harsh reality checks she stumbled upon.

Our data quality can be a bit all over the place sometimes. Formats might be inconsistent, and there could be random errors caused by people.

The quality of data is... varied :) Unfortunately very true (in every company) and very painful for a data analyst.

And the error part, well, we know from ancient times: "Errare humanum est".

Updates can also be late, and things don't always run as smoothly as we'd like. Plus, there aren't really strict rules about how we should store, process, and load data.

The rules are there. Some data is simply not as protected as other data. There are various classifications of data and, as a rule, we do not start juniors off with the "secret" category. We start them off with data that is not critical and does not fall under strict rules.

With that said, there are data sources with so many rules and limitations that no live creature will be able to obey by them. These are the ones that give us most issues with access and the ones with which we have been struggling for months to get the data to even display a simple count.

Your work doesn't just depend on you, it also involves other people. Their support can speed things up, but if they don't come through, it can slow down or even postpone the process.

That is true. There is something I tend to say to my juniors "manage your manager", but it can be extended to "manage the people that influence your work". If you depend on someone - you follow up, you ask them, you put pressure on them or you explain how critical it is to the team and why. If you don't say anything, don't expect the others to just figure it out on their own. People are different. I am crazy about being punctual, but I have friends who are not, and they think it is normal to be 40 minutes late for a meeting. We had a talk and now we understand each other. They know it irritates me when they are late and they do their best to come on time and if they are running late, they let me know. I know they don't do it because they don't respect me, they are late only if they trust someone, and they feel safe with them.

Bottom line is - if you need something done and there is pressure on you, share that pressure with the people you depend on - let them know they are a part of this process. Speak up. They might not be aware (seriously).

I have mentioned this in the article about extrapolating skills from your hobbies.

Sometimes clients may not be clear about what they want or the key performance indicators (KPIs) they need. In such cases, you may have to figure it out yourself or have a conversation with them to truly understand their needs.

Wants and needs are not always the same thing. This is a critical thing to understand. People don't always know what they NEED.

KPI definition is a big topic that I think I will have to dig a bit deeper on in one of the future articles. There is a great role that a good Data Analyst can play in KPI definition if the client is smart enough to listen.

Data analysis is quite different from what is taught in courses or at university. The data you work with is often not clean and requires a deep understanding of the context and the processes involved. Additionally, the statistical measures and tests learned in university may not always be necessary, as the needs of departments can be simpler or involve multiple conditional criteria (e.g., if it's 30 days, then we are okay, etc.).

I wrote about the context of the data and understanding of the process and the reality of data analytics in this article.

LOTS OF BUREAUCRACY: whether it's installing something or making any changes. It often includes going through several steps and can require a fair amount of waiting time.

Love the capital letters here :)

This is something I mention often, and it gets on my nerves as well, but I am afraid I will defend the corporation this time. Some "bureaucracy" is needed and must be there. Data protection being one of the reasons. Access management being the second reason. What you have to remember is that a lot of the information and data you have access to in the corporate world should not be leaked to the outside world. This is why we cannot just install whatever we want on our computers (potential malware), this is why we have teams like Security Operations who assess and check the apps for potential threats. Some employees may not be fully aware of how much issues can an unknown application cause. This is why, in most big companies, we do not have admin rights on our computers.

Not everyone has the same background, so it may take time to understand a task or to explain it to someone. The same goes for how the dashboard should be used - people are different, and some who are provided with a dashboard will use it regularly, while others may rarely engage with it, despite the effort and development put into it.

That's the biggest surprise when you come to IT from studying IT and it turns out you don't always work with technical people. You have to change your communication style. I wrote a whole article on communication.

The usage of dashboards is something that sometimes needs to be taught. I may dig into that in one of the future articles.

And now let's turn to what corporate world can actually do to make fresh Uni students feel good:

Not everything can be done in one day. Sometimes, it takes time to figure out an issue or to explore better ways to solve a problem.

Time is an essential part of our work. Complex problems always require time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

You're not expected to solve the task all by yourself. If you need help, you can ask for it, and your questions will be answered and support from the team or outside sources will be provided. The most important thing is to get the task done, and no one will blame you for not fixing it all alone.

The sheer number of people willing to help is astonishing. Every single one of them has a different skill set and they can teach you different things.

It is important to build a network of connections outside of your immediate team. It is also crucial to make the people who helped you aware that you appreciate them. Sometimes a simple "thank you" is enough. If you know how to "use" those connections (but not abuse it) it can be a huge boost for your career.

You have the opportunity to use multiple tools, and if you want to try a particular solution within the budget, it will most likely be provided.

This is an official "safe to try" rule in our extended team. Very valuable if you ask me.

Your managers are there to support your development and well-being, and they always encourage you to learn and take on more responsibilities and challenges.

Thank you, I take that as a compliment. Hope you only get those kinds of managers during your career. Although if you find one that does not do it, "manage your manager" or find yourself a mentor that will take their place in this regard.

You have the freedom to solve tasks using your own creativity and approach. You can use any tools or methods, and if you get stuck, you can always ask for help. Overall, you are given the space and autonomy to solve the task in your own way.

You can always come up with a better solution than the one I found. Your managers / seniors are not Alphas and Omegas, and they can be wrong. They should, however, always be there to at least help you brainstorm if you get stuck.

Asking more questions to the seniors is not only encouraged but also valued. It is understood that you are trying to learn, and it's recognized that mistakes are a part of the learning process.

One of the first sentences I say to my interns is: "Your job is to ask questions". And when you are a Data or Process Analyst, this is going to be your job as long as you stay in this line of work. It's good practice.

Not everything needs to be perfect. If it works. The focus is more on progress and the final product rather than being in the tedious pursuit of perfection.

Perfection does not exist.

I sometimes use the good old: "Nobody's perfect... My name is Nobody."

Truth is - my name is Ewa. Everything and everyone in this world is flawed, at least a bit. Even my dogs and my horse. :)

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Can you share what it is that makes you happy that you are a part of the corporate world? Or maybe there is something that you really don't like?

Please share in the comments below.

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