Infantry Soldier turned Data Analyst
I joined the British Army in 2011 and I served over 8 years; going through 6 months of rigorous training to transform from being a civilian to a soldier. The training was extremely challenging and difficult. I survived through it by perseverance and self-discipline. I learned courage, teamwork, and loyalty. After my training I got posted to my unit based in Tidworth Garrison, where I served with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. This time in my unit was incredibly exciting whilst also proving a challenge.
I did many fascinating things in the army, including traveling to different continents of the world, experiencing different cultures, and participating in a variety of military exercises.
In 2012, I went to Canada for the first time on deployment for a routine military exercise. It was a particularly thrilling moment for me, as it was my first foreign exercise. The exercise was extremely challenging because of the training terrain and the Canadian weather conditions. After the exercise we undertook several adventurous activities like skydiving, kayaking, and horse-riding. Additionally we did a lot of military training which helped us to improve our forces skills. During the military exercise, I learned a great deal about courage, discipline, teamwork, respect for others, integrity, and loyalty.
In 2017, I was on a field exercise called Wessex Storm and I started reflecting on my career aspirations and what I really wanted to accomplish whilst in the Army; I knew because of injuries I sustained on a foreign exercise that I couldn’t progress further within the Armed Forces.
The decision had to be made to move on from my exciting military career, to the next adventure: Information Technology.
Fast forward to 2020, when I joined Butterfly Data with no technical background. All I had to offer was my resilience, determination, and willingness to learn. The journey hasn’t been easy. I had to work extremely hard during working hours and after work, hours studying to understand some of the concepts and methodologies of data analytics. Based on the fact that I’m new to the industry I have been asking a lot of questions from my senior colleagues and the management team.
So, prior to my transition into the tech sector, I didn’t know much about data analytics and the numerous tools that were being used to work on projects but, at Butterfly data, I’ve learned a lot about the various analytic tools that can be used to execute projects. The company encourages its employees to always have an open mind towards new technology which can help to implement projects efficiently and effectively.
At Butterfly data, I have learned how to use Microsoft Excel and some of the more advanced features that come with it. I have also learned how to use some of the SAS tools like SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Visual Analytics, SAS Visual Investigator, and SAS Intelligent Decisioning, amongst several others.
Butterfly Data as a company has a real depth of knowledge in data science, data management, data engineering, data quality, data transformation, and data migration.
In conclusion these are my recommendations, if you want to become a data analyst. As a data analyst, you need a variety of skills you need to learn:
Programming
Problem Solving
Data Visualisation
Communication
Statistical Math
Adding to the above points; you also need to have an appetite for knowledge and a mindset to do more to become a good data analyst.
