Name: Radhika Gupta '19
Title: Data Analyst
Employer: The Invictus Group
Major(s): Economics and Mathematics
What do you enjoy most about your current position?
I really enjoy how busy it is and how much I have been able to learn. While gaining a better understanding of different financial concepts, I have also been able to drastically improve my excel skills.
What is a typical day like in your position?
The job is remote and tends to be different every day. Every morning the entire company has a call around 9am. Then I will have a call with my direct manager to see what needs to be done. Since it is a job that depends on the clients and when they submit their data, there can be different amounts of work each day. When the client does submit their data, it is my job to process it and make sure it is ready to be analyzed through our program.
Which undergraduate experiences (i.e. internships, on-campus leadership, living learning communities, faculty member, etc.) did you find most helpful in preparing you for your current position?
I would say my internship as a Risk and Management Intern at the Federal Trade Commission was the most helpful. It taught me what it was like to be in a professional environment and involved going to meetings related to data security. I would also say that working at the Economics Undergraduate Office was helpful as well, as I developed my basic excel skills which helped me at my job. DATA ANALYST
How has your coursework helped you in your current position (i.e. quantitative skills, research techniques, communication skills)?
This job is heavily related to the banking sector so I would say ECON330 Money & Banking was a very helpful course. It taught me how the banking system works within the United States and made me comfortable with the terminology. There is a fair bit of programming in my job. I have taken a few programming courses that have been able to help me such as CMSC131 and STAT430.
Any job or internship advice for students seeking a position in your field?
Whenever someone wishes to work with data, it is really important to have strong excel skills and to be able to work with large data-sets. Students should get comfortable with pivot tables, vlookups, etc.
Anything else you want to share with undergraduates?
There is definitely a transition from college to working that students need to prepare themselves for. A good way would be to research the company that you are working for and to learn the skills that you feel may be valuable, which I believe are excel and programming skills.
