Finding a data/tech/information job with my current skill set?

January 8, 2018 11:09 AM

I've been job searching for 6 months (Eugene, OR) with no luck. I've been marketing myself as an admin person with data skills and starting to think I should be doing the opposite. Help? How do I find data jobs with some admin flavor and that don't require super specialized skills?

Background: 5 years of university staff jobs, 3.5 in various admin roles (event planning, scheduling, curriculum planning, general assistant stuff, etc.) and 1.5 as a data analyst (Excel, Tableau, lots of graphs and charts, survey design/analysis)

I've applied for many jobs at the university here - most of them admin-type jobs, most with a component of data wrangling. I have a very good hit rate for interviews, but I'm always the bridesmaid.

I've now had two promising interviews where I didn't get the job, but they flat-out told me it was really close and I should consider analyst/tech type jobs more, because they were impressed by my data skills, despite me going out of my way to emphasize the things I liked and miss about admin work.


Skills:
- as mentioned, a pretty deep bench of general admin, planning, scheduling work. I am very good at details. Google forms, general "make workflows better via online tools."

- Cognos reporting - I learned to do this on my own as an admin and started writing my own queries to answer all kinds of stuff. This kickstarted my data interest/career because honestly it was pretty amazing the stuff people didn't even know we could analyze until someone learned how to do it.

- Tableau. I learned Tableau pretty much from scratch I have actual dashboards on the public Internet that I made. I know how to write calculations and parameters and filters in Tableau. I know how to take raw data and make it into something Tableau can use, with one caveat: I haven't had the chance to do a direct database hookup or play with feeding data directly from a data warehouse into Tableau. Quite confident that I could learn, but it's not something I can currently market.

Semi-Skills:
-SQL/database modeling, I took a class a few years ago and felt a strong aptitude for it, but haven't had the chance to use it in a job

-data warehousing, again, I am familiar with the concepts but don't have much experience with hooking directly into a warehouse - I've mostly used Cognos to write queries

FRUSTRATIONS:

-The hardest thing about my data analyst job was the isolation. I only had regular interaction with one person and was mostly left to tinker with my projects for weeks, sometimes. I really need something where you're able to play with data but you're using it to interact with people and solve their problems on a daily basis. This is why I thought looking for admin jobs with data possibilities might be the best approach.

- I'm getting a lot of admin interviews, and I go out of my way to say "yes, I love data but mostly as it's used to help solve admin-type processes". But I'm still getting rejected in part because they're seeing me as a data person, not an admin person. It's like even people who want to hire a good admin believe this myth that you can't be "too skilled" or else you won't want to be "just an admin". I do genuinely like many aspects of admin work. I think you can harness data to do admin work better.

-I hear from many people that Tableau is a hot skill and yet when I search on linkedin etc there are maybe two jobs that mention it. Maybe my city is too small?

-When I look for jobs like ___ analyst, data manager, etc. they almost all ask for skills I don't have. I don't think I'm selling myself short - I'd apply for a job that said "SQL experience required", but am I really supposed to be applying for jobs that say they want SAS/R/etc. experience when I have none of that?


TLDR: I feel like I'm in a horrible gap where I'm too data-y for admin jobs but don't have enough hard skills for tech jobs. I'm frustrated that I somehow landed one of the only data analyst jobs I've seen that didn't seem to require deep experience with specific tech skills. I showed up and said "I taught myself Cognos to do XYZ and it was cool and now I want to learn Tableau." They hired me. Where do I find a job that will do this again?


ANSWERS I NEED:

-what kind of jobs/companies am I supposed to be looking for? I am lost and need very specific recs. I am pretty open to anything, except I'm pretty sure I don't want to supervise other people, and I don't want a job where I'm usually alone. I'm an introvert that enjoys feeling like I solved a problem for someone, if that makes sense.

- if I lean into looking for techy data jobs, especially outside the university since this is not my comfort zone... how do I best leverage talking about the admin skills I have as a value add?

PLEASE DO NOT: tell me I should learn coding, Python, R, Hadoop, etc. I'm aware of the skills that might make me more marketable, but right now I need to know what jobs I could get now with the skills I have. I have thought a lot about going back to school or learning these things, but it's not immediately in the pipe. I either need to figure out how to land a data job or tone down my data skillz in hopes of going back to admin.

posted by nakedmolerats to Work & Money (6 answers total)

I really need something where you're able to play with data but you're using it to interact with people and solve their problems on a daily basis.

This is what a business analyst does. Some positions are more techy than others. Some focus more on getting requirements and writing documentation.

- as mentioned, a pretty deep bench of general admin, planning, scheduling work. I am very good at details. Google forms, general "make workflows better via online tools."

This is what a project coordinator does.

am I really supposed to be applying for jobs that say they want SAS/R/etc. experience when I have none of that?

Yes. Don't lie and say you know how to do it if you don't, but they generally don't expect people to check off every box. Normally there are different sections for "Required qualifications" and "Desired skills." If SAS is in the "desired" section then go ahead and apply anyway. I've had interviewers admit that it doesn't really matter, it would just be nice to have.

I'm in a similar bind, so check my recent questions for advice.
posted by AFABulous at 11:57 AM on January 8, 2018

I have been a data analyst In Portland for eight years now, and have worked with data for over ten. The isolation you describe is a failure of management, not part of data jobs. I was look for analyst jobs. It requires a lot of data work, which you have the skills for; but it also requires that you interact with people and translate numbers into information specific audiences can understand. I think your admin skills would help with that.

When you rewrite your resume, focus on how you used data to influence decision making, what kinds of people you wrote reports for (managers, grant writers, etc). Don't worry about missing skills. If you know SQL and Tableau, you can figure it out in SAS or Cognos with some training. Most job listings are written for the ideal candidate, and not the people that will ultimately be interviewed. The important thing to know is who you would be working for inside these organizations and to do what. Tailor your qualifications to that, and you have a foot in the door.

Eugene is small, but I see a dozen jobs on Indeed you should apply for. Don't be afraid to apply for something you are unsure about. If you want me to look at your resume I would be happy to.
posted by munchingzombie at 1:20 PM on January 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Hospitals and health care organizations need people with your skills. Try those places.
posted by SyraCarol at 4:01 PM on January 8, 2018

In Seattle, I'd tell you to apply for consulting work - this is the kind of stuff I do all day long. I can tell you that you have sufficient skills to get hired. But you might be in the wrong town. I'd look at businesses (institutions, engineering, healthcare, transportation logistics, government) rather than specific positions. That said, have you looked for database administrator (DBA) roles?

You also might be pleasantly surprised by how easy R is to learn - I'm doing a course on Udemy right now that's about 20 or so hours. Also: OTJ training is not a thing anymore - you might get lucky, but don't expect to get hired and trained up into work you really want. You need to come in with a base level of understanding for the kind of work you want.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 7:09 PM on January 8, 2018

But I'm still getting rejected in part because they're seeing me as a data person, not an admin person. It's like even people who want to hire a good admin believe this myth that you can't be "too skilled" or else you won't want to be "just an admin".

If you're worried about not being given admin tasks as a more skilled woman in tech, don't worry, people will still ask you to cover the phones or make copies because you're a woman. Joy.

But the thing to consider from their perspective here is comparative advantage. They see admins as the low paid unskilled labor they delegate tasks to, so skilled labor may better specialize. Your career path suggests an admin position is a demotion, and if they hire you now, in six months when you find a data analyst position with a better mix of salary and workplace social atmosphere, they'll be hiring again.

what kind of jobs/companies am I supposed to be looking for?

The work you are describing is largely what my dad did as a 'business analyst.' And the key thing you need to be open to is relocation. We moved about once a year as consultant contracts expired. Once you have a portfolio of business analyst gigs behind you, you can pivot into working for a large firm. Eugene is basically all non-profit / govt, all relatively small in scale, which makes data analysis less viable versus say Nike's marketing analysis team.

I hear from many people that Tableau is a hot skill and yet when I search on linkedin etc there are maybe two jobs that mention it. Maybe my city is too small?

Eugene for all it's charms, is a tiny, tiny metro, and it's absurd that it's the second largest in Oregon. You need to prepare to move. I see 73 openings on LinkedIn for Tableau roles in Portland. 300 in Seattle.

As a bonus, a large metro area has more opportunity for career growth by changing employers, and far more opportunity for social interactions outside of work.

how do I best leverage talking about the admin skills I have as a value add?

Honestly, I'm not sure that's a great idea, if you're pitching it as 'I'll analyze your data, but also manage the conference room schedule'. Unless you're taking a pay cut, that's asking them to overpay you for some of the work. Instead, since you're primarily afraid of being put in a corner cubicle with a spreadsheet for 8 hours a day, I recommend asking probing questions about the work culture:

- how does the team review for correctness and comprehension? (you want there to be some formal review steps, and also there to be a team)
- how are projects managed, and are estimates for deliverables measured in hours, days or weeks? (weeks is a bad sign, generally).
- (when talking to a manager) how would your directs describe your managerial style? (you want them to say something along the lines of weekly chats, regular feedback, and the importance of relationships)
- how often does the group get together for lunch and chat? (you want to hear weekly or more often, not 'uhhh... once in a while I guess', also acceptable: 'we encourage people to make lunch friends outside their immediate department')

If you do want to mention your admin experience, I'd focus on the general aspects rather than specific skills like knowing the travel reimbursement system in and out. Reading your boss's email and scheduling their meetings might translate as "well rehearsed at discreetly handling sensitive personal information." That sort of thing.

Also: OTJ training is not a thing anymore - you might get lucky, but don't expect to get hired and trained up into work you really want

This. Universities are a special breed. They'll pay some fraction of your tuition, and generally overvalue advanced professional degrees. Industry is happy to shift training costs to the trainee, though you may get conference budgets from time to time. Independent contractors are paid more in part because it's assumed they're spending part of every year doing non-billable, self-funded education.
posted by pwnguin at 9:41 PM on January 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

do you have your resume posted somewhere? also how do you feel about relocating? the company I work for is in seattle, and this sounds similar to something we need in our IT department.
posted by evilmonk at 8:50 AM on January 9, 2018