Learn more about Nick's experience, from the time he applied to The Data School, to his career as a Business Manager. Nick was part of Cohort 11 of The Data School London, which took place from October 2018 to February 2021.
Interviewed by Mel Niere | Edited by Vivian Ng
Before The Data School
Q: What brought you to The Data School? What factors influenced your decision to apply and ultimately join The Data School?
I was part way through my master's year and still really didn't know what I wanted to do. I was told that data was a really useful thing to get into, with most jobs and industries using it and becoming more reliant. So I started to look on websites for data-related jobs and grad schemes (apprenticeships).
I found The Data School on a recruiter’s website, looked into it because of the field, and was grabbed by the company and the salary. The salary was far beyond what I expected; £30K was 50% more than most of the other grad jobs that I'd seen. Beyond the salary, the general vibe of the company seemed almost too good to be true— almost like it could be a scam.
I went along to an open evening in London hosted by TIL at their old office. A few then-current members of The Data School presented and showcased Tableau and Alteryx, and afterwards I chatted with members of the company, including Tom Brown (CEO of The Information Lab). That’s when I thought, “this really is a very cool company!” It felt like a young company too, with a lot of people that I could relate to, which was really great. I remember going down in the lift from the coworking space, giving myself a punch in the air, like yes, this is the job I'm gonna go for. So I applied, made the visualizations, sent them in, and went from there.
During The Data School
Q: What was your training experience like?
The overall training experience was great. We were trained from end to end in all of the software that we needed to use, mainly Tableau and Alteryx, but also making us aware of other things, like SQL and database management, pretty much the holistic package.
But for me, what the training provided, beyond that, was the self-growth. I came out of uni tied up with anxiety, and I was really worried about simple things, like going to work, eating around other people, and being able to be confident around people. The training experience gave me confidence in presenting, talking to people, going after what I wanted to do, and having a bit more of a can-do attitude towards work.
The weekly presentations especially were fantastic, making you stand up and realize that it's not all that difficult. I had mentioned a few of my worries to Carl Allchin, who took me under his wing in a way and pushed me into a lot of other situations. He took me along to a few of the Tableau User Groups and encouraged me into standing up and asking some questions—into getting over that initial fear. So my professional growth was more in my communication skills, which I found very difficult before The Data School; I find it so much easier now because of all of that training.
Of course, the data stuff is integral to a data-related job and really does put you at the top of the talent pool. When people who think they are good at Tableau and Alteryx meet people from The Data School, they soon realize that there is some real competition from people who have been doing it for four months rather than years, which is fantastic. The technical side was just absolutely solid, and the confidence increase was huge from that.
Q: How did your placements at The Data School enhance your skills and knowledge?
Placements gave me insights into industries and companies that I don't think I would have otherwise gone to and allowed me to see that it's not all this big scary mess that I thought it once was. The biggest example of that was PwC. I went into PwC thinking that it is this behemoth of a company, made up of robots, but then I actually went in and it's just smart people that enjoy the structure of a large company.
The work was interesting, but I learned that it's not what I want to do—I don't want to work for a huge company like that. However, it gave me a six-month window into something I would have never gone into otherwise. I probably would have gone my whole life being thinking that it's a bunch of robots, when actually, there are some really nice people there; I still have friends from my time there.
The technical knowledge was not hugely built upon during placement because we had such good training in the early stages. What was more useful was the experience gained from presenting, listening to your stakeholders, translating that into something that works for them. Also, a lot of the time, people are scared of the crazy things that we build in The Data School, so actually, you need to trim that way down to a simple bar chart and a table, and get over the fact that you don't have to build something beautiful.
In a lot of cases, a bar chart and a table—an automatic bar chart—are far more than what they've ever had before, far more access than anyone in the company has had before. The bigger part of the data use is just the pure access, rather than the beautiful things that you're creating.
I think I was fairly early on in the DS that there wasn't the full structure there is now. There is a huge amount now more given to the DSers on placement, which I think is brilliant and was probably something I would have wanted more, but when I did need that, I reached out a lot of the time to my mentors; Carl (Allchin) was a good friend then and is still a good friend now. There was always support if you needed it.
After The Data School
Q: How did The Data School and The Information Lab serve as a launchpad for your data analytics career?
My current role is Business Manager of Charles Stanley’s Asset Management division; I essentially help the head of the division run the division. I stepped away from data a year ago. Not to say that I don't still use it almost constantly, but my job is no longer a Tableau developer or data developer. I'm now helping influence decisions, run projects, a lot of the smaller relationship-y bits with the rest of the company, planning the strategy side of where the division is going—all of which are things I want to gain more experience with.
I haven’t had that experience before, and I'm using this job as a way to get that experience and build upon it, as I wanted to move from the data team and take a step away from having data as my sole job, to being a tool of my job. I have really, really loved having it as a tool under my belt. It separates me from many others in a similar role; I can access and display data in the way that I can.
I got the first job in Charles Stanley because Charles Stanley buys their Tableau licenses from The Information Lab. After a year and a half there, I had built up enough goodwill within that first job that I was able to move into a completely different job—with the confidence that I could do it. I had thought that I was going to have to leave that job to be the lead of a data team and then take another rung up the ladder to get to where I'm at now, but because of having that goodwill, I was able to move straight across to it. My current role and responsibilities are quite a step away from where I left TIL at, but it’s something that I was really wanting to develop into. It’s a lot more stressful than I thought and a bit of chaos, but I'm enjoying it.
As a career launchpad, The Data School has such a high reputation that I was able to get interviews with clients of The Information Lab. Then, I was able to choose the one that I wanted to go into, working with people with 10+ years of experience—and I was up there with them after only two years of experience. The foundation and opportunities The Data School provides prepare you to see all of these different companies in the ways they are using data. Then you’re able to see what you want to do and go into that.
Advice About The Data School
Q: What advice would you give to individuals considering applying to The Data School?
Be your unique self. Go for whatever interests you, starting with the initial application. If you want to stand out, don't just try and tick some boxes. Go for something that does interest you and shows your passion for it with the data.
Then, when you do get that interview, show that you are a real person. That was a big thing I’ve noticed after coming out of DS. There are so many people who want to work for the sake of work and go home and do nothing more. But actually, there are so many other people who are passionate about what they do and are happy to show themselves as being real people. Don't be shy to show a bit of your own quirkiness and be yourself in the interview.
And when you do get in, just continue being yourself. It's a very supportive community. TIL is a very, very good company, and it was after I left that I realized how good it was. It was such a good place to start my career, so big ups to TIL all around.