How commitment to employee development makes a difference: a new hire shares experience
Ally Barkley started her 3-month internship at RTI International feeling somewhat underprepared for her time on the data warehouse team. Barkley’s co-interns arrived with experience in computer science and interest in machine learning, while she had only recently decided to pursue her interests in the tech field. Before starting the internship, Barkley couldn’t help but think, “What am I getting myself into?”
However, she quickly learned that RTI was dedicated to her success, facilitating mentorship relationships between new hires and long-term staff and offering training opportunities. As an intern, she worked side-by-side with senior professionals in the business analytics space. Barkley acknowledges how thankful she is for her co-workers' dedication to learning new techniques related to the complex work her team was a part of. She highlights that, at RTI, “people don’t just become stagnant—they're always open to whatever is new.”
Following her virtual summer internship, Barkley joined the RTI team full-time as a Business Analyst and continues to support the institute’s transformational data and analytics work—creating metrics for large datasets, organizing user data, and providing visuals for demand needs. And even now, as a staff member, she’s taking advantage of the learning opportunities offered to RTI’s technology community; she’s currently completing the business analytics course and is hoping to start the user design and experience course afterwards.
From before the start of the internship to transitioning to a full-time employee, Barkley shares how seamless the process was and how thankful she was for the support from her co-workers at RTI. Even as the workplace is transforming into a complex digital landscape and staff are experiencing new challenges, Barkley recognizes RTI’s commitment to supporting its employees and investing in their development as essential for her success as a professional in the field. According to Barkley, RTI “really values continuous learning and investing in yourself to invest in your future.”