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My opinion working as a data analyst at a big four
In this video you will find out what it is like for me to work as a data analyst in a big 4 company.
I will also share with you my number one reason why I believe this is one of the best paths to take after college if you want to become a data scientist and possibly even work in the area _of blockchain and decentralized finance in the future.
What is the work like working as a data analyst
In my position at the moment we help clients extract financial data from a number of different ERP systems such as SAP, Abacus, Sage, Microsoft Navision.
This data is then transformed, cleaned and checked for completeness.
The data is then imported into proprietary company data analytics tools similar to Spotfire or power BI.
The output of our work enables financial auditors to not have to work through massive amounts of data in order to create audit reports for the same clients we extracted the data from. _
As with many data analyst job a huge part of our time goes into data cleaning and data transformation.
We use a range variety of tools such as Excel, unix commands, SQL and Python to automate large chunks of our work.
What knowledge do you need
If you are just coming out of college and you land a data analystics transformation position at one of the big 4. Then basic excel, progamming skills (SQL, Python) and audit knowledge such as understanding how journal entries and trial balance works is good to have.
In our team we have people from many different types of backgrounds such as economical informatics, physics, economics degree and so on.
What are downsides working at a big 4
The workload is a lot. I have worked at other companies before and there the difference in workload isn’t comparable. Especially during the busy season which starts in october and ends in march. Your social life is pretty much non existent. This can be tough to handle if you have a family and kids.
The salary that is payed out is quite often below the market rate and relatively low for the amount of work and stress you have to endure.
What are the benefits working at a big 4
Even though there are some significant downsides. I enjoy the work, the challenging learning curve, the fast pace of the organisation and the flexibility of working from home or in the train when going to and from work.
Furthermore, I get a chance of working in an awesome team where we help each other out in the most stressful of times.
Another benefit is the added value such work experience gives you as a person and on your CV. With such a company on your CV, it will be easier to negotiate higher salary jobs in the future and make your job hunt a lot easier.
My opinion
I think if you are interested in data analytics and want to gain some firsthand knowledge in this field, then I believe starting an internship or full time position at one of the big 4 is a fantastic way to start your career. A massive benefit from working in such a big organisation is that you can easily transfer to another department a few years down the line if you want something more challenging. There are so many different types of data analytics jobs that you will definitely find something that fits your interests perfectly.
I hope you found this valuable. If you have any questions about data analytics or about career choices then feel free to ask them in the comments down below. Have a fantastic day and I’ll see you on the next one.