What's your job about?
I work at Cenitex, a government entity company that provides ICT services to the public sector. I am currently in the two-year graduate program. Every few months, I have the opportunity to try out different rotations in different parts of the company.
My current rotation is in a data analytics role. I work primarily with Microsoft Power BI to create visuals with the data I work with. (It’s quite similar to Excel’s power query for those who are familiar with it) Whilst having very little knowledge on this software, the team at Cenitex has been very helpful and patient in bringing me up to speed.
One of my biggest and most fun projects would have been when I created a dashboard that pulled live data from Emergency Victoria on bushfires and power outages. I could use this data to advise the team on how many of our employees were living in these affected zones.
If thinking of data puts you to sleep, the great thing about the grad program is you’re sure to find a rotation that fits your passion.
What's your background?
I grew up in Sri Lanka, spending some of my early life in Australia until my family got our citizenships we then moved back to Sri Lanka where I completed my secondary education. I excelled in science subjects, mostly biology and computing. My journey then took me to Darwin in the Northern Territory where I undertook a double degree in clinical science and medicine. Near the end of my medical degree, I came to the very difficult realisation that I was not happy with pursuing a career in medicine.
I decided then to explore my interest in computers. Which then took me to RMIT in Melbourne where I studied computer science, graduating with distinction. With this accomplishment I began searching for graduate IT job opportunities. Which led me to Cenitex! I was impressed by their commitment to creating a good work culture and valuing their employees. They also provide the opportunity to try rotations in different parts of the company. Currently I am putting my skills and interests in data analytics to use creating dashboards and reports in Power BI.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Certainly! If I was able to make such a drastic change in careers and get to where I am, others certainly could too. Even if you don’t have skills with Excel and data, the team at Cenitex are very friendly and patient with graduates. You will be given the support and time to learn new skills.
If you do wish to pursue a data analysis role, some good skills to have would be some knowledge of Excel, data cleaning skills, and a willingness to experiment with different solutions. It also helps to have some skills with UX design when it comes to displaying visuals. But this will come with time and experience as you get to know your client/audience. If at the end of the rotation, you still find that you don’t like data there’s no need to worry. You’ve at least learnt how one part of the company works and have other rotations to explore.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I enjoy when I can do a bit of research on how to solve a particular Power BI related issue. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction in solving something myself.
What are the limitations of your job?
If you don’t enjoy working with data, like trying to find patterns, trends and cleaning data, then a data analyst role may not be the best position for you. Once you have created a dashboard, it is most likely going to also be your responsibility to then maintain it and attend to it should things go wrong. If you’ve put in a lot of work into creating a dashboard, you may not enjoy having to explain all your workings to someone else who is unfamiliar with how you have designed everything, so this is also something you should keep in mind.
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