What is a business intelligence/data science consultant? What does a normal day look like for a data consultant, especially during the work-from-home days we’re currently operating in? Our engineers are here to answer just that with our “A Day in the Life” blog series, with Rachel Burge kicking it off!
Hi! I’m Rachel, a Business Intelligence Engineer at Continuus Technologies, and here’s what a typical day as a data consultant looks like for me.
Most days start with a 6:00-6:30 AM wake-up, courtesy of our 6-month-old daughter. The whole family heads down to the kitchen for breakfast and coffee; coffee is a must!
With both myself and my husband working from home, we had to set up a second office space in our guest bedroom. This way we both have our own desk space and quiet rooms to make calls from.
Between 7:30 and 9:00 AM, I check emails and plan out my day, while making sure our crawling baby isn't chewing on any power cords.
At 9:00 AM, a quick team check-in lets me know what other projects might be coming down the pipeline or who might need assistance that day.
By nap time, I am ready to hit the ground running with any client work or time sensitive projects.
If possible, I like to leave my mornings free of meetings and focus on completing client projects. I try to send any updates before noon, so the client(s) have the afternoon to provide feedback or schedule a quick call if there are follow up questions. Recently, my client projects have consisted of building out Alteryx workflows to be used as an analytical application and leveraging API connections to pull and post data to internal systems.
At lunch time, if it's nice out, we like to get outside and take a walk or check out the vegetable garden for any ripe veggies. Being able to take a break and get outside has been a nice perk of working from home this summer and fall.
Afternoons are a balance between client meetings, internal meetings, and business development projects. It can get hectic, but it always helps to prioritize my tasks. Client work or questions will be prioritized first, followed by any business development projects that have a deadline. For example, in the past few weeks I have worked on three different demos for potential clients.
Another aspect that helps break up the day is checking in on our Teams channels. Our team of BI engineers uses those channels to pose questions that we might be stuck on or share interesting articles we came across. This helps to give me not only a mental break from what I may have been working on, but also a way to connect with my team. It can be hard to feel like a cohesive team as consultants, as most of us work from home or at clients, even before the pandemic. Being able to use Teams to work together to troubleshoot issues or collaborate on a project are some of the most fun aspects of the job, because we all have a passion for data and coming up with creative solutions.
Lastly, I like to spend a few hours every week on my own personal development. In the past month I have worked toward earning my Tableau Partner Certification, which I achieved in October. I have also had the chance to participate in some of the many Data Meetup events that Continuus puts on. It is a great way for me to not only share my knowledge, but also learn from my coworkers and other data professionals.
The end of the day, from 5:00-7:00 PM is usually a chaotic mix of play time, dinner, and getting our wiggly 6-month-old ready for bed. After she is in bed we can finally unwind, which usually involves an episode or two of whatever show we are currently watching (we just finished the third season of Netflix's The Crown). or a game or two of darts in our mudroom.
Sometimes I use the evenings to do some uninterrupted work or work on a data passion project as well. Currently I have been building a Tableau dashboard to visualize our vegetable garden layout, timing, and yield.
One of the best things about working for Continuus, is the autonomy and flexibility to do my job in the way that works best for me and my schedule. Even before COVID or having a kid, I was appreciative of the flexible work environment Continuus provided. But now it is imperative and I value it even more. While no two days are exactly the same, I have found that following this loose daily structure helps keep me on task, but also allows for the flexibility needed in consulting.
If you are interested in learning more about Careers at Continuus, please reach out to info@continuus-technologies.com.