As a Data Analyst, my days are spent producing global geodata, providing data support for client projects and configuring tables within our databases for use in MAPP. Producing and preparing data is the first step in any project, so it is important for me to be flexible to ensure priority tasks are completed on time.
My day can start either in my home office or with a walk (via a coffee shop) to the GEOLYTIX office by Park Square in Leeds city centre. I will first check through my messages and project updates, before opening my to-dos to remind myself of upcoming and ongoing tasks. The first hour or two of my day might be spent responding to ad-hoc data requests from colleagues (or sometimes clients). This could involve scouring the internet for demographic data for a country in Southeast Asia, preparing traffic count data in Central Europe, producing maps in QGIS or simply uploading/restructuring tables in our databases.
Before lunch, I attend a meeting for a project which I am providing data or modelling support on. Sometimes these are internal catch ups with my colleagues and other times they involve representatives from the client company. After deciding some next steps, I take a break for lunch and then spend the afternoon completing project work. At a project’s kick-off, I usually create a standard set of tables including demographics, points of interest and an urbanity classification.
Meetings such as our Data Science Forum or SQL Training Bursts break up the day with some recaps on project work or analytical techniques. I also try to find some time each week to work on improving my Python and SQL skills, which is important as I am increasingly spending my time supporting the Data Scientists with modelling.
If a number of us are in the office, we might end the day with a quick drink at a local pub or bar before my colleagues head to the train station to return to various parts of the North.
Catherine Duffy, Data Analyst at Geolytix
