Andy is Medialab’s Lead Analytics Engineer and sits in our Data Analytics team within Apollo, our proprietary marketing intelligence platform, where he works on everything from ensuring smooth data operations first thing in the morning to shaping the future of our analytics capabilities alongside colleagues and clients. Andy takes us through a typical day.
Pre-morning
Most mornings start with a long commute, which I’ve turned into useful time. I’ll read a mix of things; keeping up on current affairs, football, F1, tech, fashion, culture and the environment. I’m more of a generalist than a specialist, so I like drawing inspiration from a wide range of places. It keeps me curious and gives me fresh angles when I’m looking at problems later in the day. I always have a book or TV series on the go too for a bit of variety.
Morning
Once I’m at work and I’m logged on, my first priority is checking the data pipelines. If something failed overnight, as a team we want to catch and resolve it before anyone is impacted. After that, it’s usually heads-down work: writing SQL (Structured Query Language), testing dbt models, or reviewing pull requests from the team.
Mornings follow with our team standups where we check in on progress of tasks, changes to priorities and any blockers that have come up. It’s a good opportunity to discuss progress, any challenges or bounce ideas off other team members.
The rest of the morning is split between improving the analytics capabilities of our operating system Apollo and delivering BAU use cases for our client teams and our clients.
Lunch
Lunch is a good chance to take a break. I try to step away from the laptop, even if it’s just a quick walk to grab some fresh air. I usually bring a packed lunch and quite a few of the team do too, so it’s a good time to catch up with teammates and eat together.
Afternoon
Afternoons are a mix of deep work and people time. Some days I’ll be working with our Head of Data and Engineering or one of our Analytics team, mapping out new data models or thinking about how to make our architecture more robust. Most days it’s about collaboration, meeting with stakeholders to translate their needs into something actionable or having a 121 with one of the team. I really value teamwork, so I make sure to balance my individual tasks with time spent supporting others.
There’s always documentation to write so I usually reserve some time in the week to add to our knowledgebase or write down the steps to solve a tricky problem. Handing off this type of knowledge helps free up brain capacity and shares knowledge around the team.
After work
I try and attend as many socials after work as possible as they’ve been a good way to get to socialise with my team and colleagues from other teams. This week we’re having a team games evening in Regents Park for Medialab’s Sports Day.
Other than that, it’s about heading home and switching off. The commute home in particular is a good way to decompress from a busy or longer day. There’s always something to do around the house when I get home, out in the garden or down the allotment so weekends and evenings bring a good variation to the day to day.
If you weren’t at Medialab, what would you be doing?
If I could not work I’d be at the beach! But whilst I still need to there’s a side of me that loves the bigger picture of technology and culture – how lifestyle, sport, culture or new consumer trends tie back into data. In another life, I could easily imagine helping think tanks use analytics to drive impact in society.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into the industry/this particular part of the industry?
Have a passion for data. Value facts and appreciate the many ways they can be described or visualised. Beyond that do your best, understand your strengths and areas for development and bring your own self. Those I see being successful embrace their uniqueness and use their identity to build others up, innovate and develop something exciting.
