Data, data everywhere

I’ve been thinking about what makes a person pick a career. My journey to picking a job started when I was a child. I was very aware of my parents’ careers growing up. I knew my dad was a software engineer, and I knew my mom was a nurse. Sitting in front of a computer all day seemed like the epitome of boredom when I was a child. My mom’s job of taking care of people, on the other hand, seemed way more incredible to me. I remember that our neighbors would bring their toddlers over to our house, stand their children up on our kitchen table, and have my mom look at whatever was ailing them. Being able to help people like that seemed like a worthy career path to go down. As such, I started observing occupational therapists in middle school and decided that was going to be the career I wanted. This was the path I thought I would go down for the course of my working life.

I graduated in 2018 with my exercise science degree and have taken all the required pre-reqs for OT school except abnormal psychology. I was going to do a part-time program at a private school, but after a while I realized I was falling out of love with the career I had fallen in love with as a child. It’s hard to know when I started falling out of love with that profession, but it was certainly sped up by my horrific internship experience.

I was bullied by my supervisor, and I saw just how petty people in the workplace could be. My supervisor offloaded a patient to a part-time therapist who was lower on the pecking order because she was tired of dealing with the child and his mother. I watched as she smirked across the room while the other therapist struggled with their new client. I was required to attend weekly meetings where they would mention social events that interns weren’t invited to. I had never felt more misunderstood than I did at that internship. I ended up crying a lot of days after going to the clinic.

I tried to tell myself that this clinic was just toxic, but I just didn’t want anything to do with being a healthcare practitioner anymore. I had seen behind the curtain and did not like what I saw. The irony was that they had a large portion of their patient caseload who were autistic, and they were mistreating an autistic adult in their midst. In retrospect, the children with autism seemed to be their least favorite; at least they seemed like my supervisor’s least favorite. It didn’t take me long to understand that someone like me wasn’t wanted or liked in that environment so I moved on to other career options.

At the time I contemplated getting a master’s degree in public health or an MBA (amongst other options). It took me a while to realize what I truly wanted to do, though. I finally settled on going back for a business administration degree with a focus in healthcare management. It was while in that program and working at my current job that I discovered I liked working with data and on the computer the best. Organizing information and looking for patterns was genuine fun for me.

A coworker at the time, who was not very fond of me, was studying data analysis. I didn’t say anything while she was working with me, but I listened to what she would talk about regarding data analysis. I just kept quiet and listened closely. I eventually found out about certifications on websites such as Coursera and Udemy. I started researching what was required for an entry-level position in that field.

I also paid attention to what I loved in my second-degree program. My favorite courses were IT for Healthcare Managers, Healthcare Statistics, Quality, and Risk Management. I rather enjoyed my IT-focused capstone project as well. With these indicators in mind, I continued to push toward learning more about my desired craft of data analysis.

I’m not sure when I decided that working on a computer was now an exciting proposition. I think when I started working in healthcare and saw the amount of information at my fingertips I got excited with everything I could possibly learn. Concerning data, you have to look closely to see what story the data is telling. You have to find a way to make the information important and tell a coherent story. This is the kind of challenge that I find appealing and want to take on.  

I’m now networking, continuing to learn new skills, and planning to move into a position related to data analysis within the next few months. I want to encourage those who feel as though they will never find a career path for themselves that you don’t need to listen to other people to find your path. I was originally advised to not get a second bachelor’s degree. It ended up giving me valuable experience and exposed me to a wider array of career options which helped me pick my current area of expertise. A good job doesn’t have to be exciting. It just has to be something that you are content doing and can support yourself doing. A good job is different for everyone, and you are the best person to help yourself pick your ideal job.