One thing about being a grown up is that you need to have a job. Here's some background on the jobs I've had:
1. I was set to graduate in the spring of 2006 and so for the year leading up to that date I was searching desperately to find a job (I wanted to avoid the prospect of graduating with a wife to support without a job). Deloitte & Touche was recruiting pretty heavily from BYU, and they found me in the statistics department. They were looking for smart people who knew SAS. They liked me and told me they could teach me accounting (their main business) but the SAS/math part was harder to teach. That's why they were recruiting from our department. They gave me a job.
So, Jen and I relocated across the country and away from each of our families to start out on our own. I learned what the corporate lifestyle was all about:
1. looking like you are working hard is often as important as actually working hard
2. arriving early and leaving late are two ways to easily accomplish #1
3. people say "thanks" whenever they're done talking to you, regardless of whether or not it is warranted
4. making sure you're the 'go-to' person for any subject is a good way to cement your job security
5. always being ready to step into your boss's role is a good way to actually get it
6. you can never be too professional, but it's very easy to be not professional enough
7. don't complain about work to people at work
8. if you know your stuff and you know how to communicate effectively there's no limit to how much you can contribute to the team/company
9. people who think they're always right are usually the easiest people to deal with (not the funnest or best, the easiest)
10. don't blow your fuse
11. the people you work with can be the best of friends
12. don't use statistical sampling methods for audit readiness projects (the level of materiality will most likely be lower than your confidence interval)
2. Being a 'Data Quality & Integrity Consultant' was not what I had hoped it would be. It turned out that 'statistical analysis' was more like summing up columns in excel and comparing to a financial statement. But instead of bailing when I didn't like it, I set a goal to get promoted, and then bail if I still didn't like it. I did get promoted in 2008, and afterwards an opportunity popped up at Overstock.com. Jen was ready to move back closer to family and so we moved back across the country. More professional lessons:
1. you're in charge of your own career
2. never bring up problems without proposing solutions
3. executive allies are the best ones to have
4. getting promoted earlier than you're ready to be promoted isn't good for anyone
5. never be ashamed of making sure your opinion is heard (as long as you're right)
3. I left Overstock.com due to a disagreement I had with one of the executives about raising/lowering prices, a story I'll save for another day. Before I'd left, I'd started doing independent consulting with a company called Property Solutions International, to build a revenue management model for apartment complexes. The multifamily housing industry is not quite ready for the analytics revolution quite yet, so when I completed the project I began looking for a more permanent position.
4. So that brings us to the present. I'm starting with a company called Teradata in a few weeks. If things work out, perhaps that will be the last job move I'll have.
