Tell us a bit about yourself
I have a degree on Geophysical Engineering from Universidad Central de Venezuela and I worked in the Oil and Gas industry for 10 years. After transitioning out of the industry I pursued several businesses and investments that provided me with many lessons of the real world and made me work a lot in my personal development. After careful thought I decided to start a career in data analytics and right after finishing my certificate I started working as a Data Specialist at Upfield (the makers of Becel margarine). Since then I have been involved in the creation and automation of many reports in Power BI as part of the continuous improvement initiative of the plant to reduce waste and improve profitability of its processes.
Why did you choose the field of data analytics/business intelligence?
It’s what felt the most natural to me as an engineer and a geophysicist. It is also related to one of the aspects that I like the most about analyzing data, make the data talk by finding new relationships, ratios and plots to show what is embedded in the numbers.
Do you have any pivotal/memorable event to share from your life that lead to what you are doing now?
During my stay at Weatherford, I started working with a multidisciplinary group, that included Petroleum Engineers, Geologists, Petrophysicists, Geophysicists, Sales Engineers and other scientists. Each one of them would give their own perspective and what was the most important thing they wanted to see in the reports, presentations and other deliverables. All opinions mattered. I learned a lot about how to switch from one mindset to another and value the importance of knowing the key elements that they were looking for in the final outcome. That was something I started implementing in my personal life, because we all are pursuing something in particular in this life and the faster you find out, the better you will understand the environment you live in and how you can fit in it.
Would you share some previous worries related to your career that you would tell your past self not to be nervous about and face it head on?
Worry less and focus your efforts on what matters the most to you.
Any words of encouragement/advice for current and future students looking to enter the field of analytics?
The more you work on your craft and the more you study, things start to take shape and all the worries, the unanswered questions, the doubts start to vanish little by little.
| Position and company before course | Position and company after course | How long did it take you to find a job after graduating from WeCloudData? |
| Broker at New World Precious Metals | Data Specialist at Upfield | I finished on December 24 2021 and I started working on January 17 2022. The real length of time is hard to calculate because it was thanks to an acquaintance I made when I moved to Toronto (from Calgary) on October 2020. I would say that thanks to the networking and the trust I generated during that year put me in a position to be recommended. |
Can you provide us with any insight into how the interview process was like?
The interview was in two parts. A very standard one with HR and later on with the hiring manager where he asked me several questions about my thought process regarding data. Whether it was data I felt familiar with and data that was completely strange to me. I explained how I would address both situations. There were a few behavioral questions and if I had experience with surveys.
What made you choose WeCloudData over other service providers? Was there something that stood out to you about our program that solidified your decision?
The schedule and that the trainers had jobs in the same field.
What did you find most enjoyable or interesting about WeCloudData while being a student? Was there any aspect of our course curriculum or teaching style that stood out to you?
Relaxed, pragmatic and different approaches to solving one problem.
