Emma Lai
Current job title, company: Senior Data Visualization & Analytics Consultant with Cleartelligence
Location: Remote out of Madison, WI
Interests/Hobbies: Tennis, piano, doodling
What do you enjoy most about your current role? Can you share a few of your main responsibilities?
I love the creative process that comes with data visualization, and the subsequent grin of excitement on clients’ faces when the wireframe (a mock up of the data visualization) starts to take shape. The first step to designing an effective dashboard or telling a data story is to be able to tailor the solution to a client’s business needs.
For example, a client wanted to know, at a glance, which business projects were healthy and which were at risk. We helped them create metrics that defined a “healthy” or “at risk” business project, and we designed dashboard that would enable users to compare projects quickly. Like drawing or writing, it’s hard to translate an idea to paper, so being an effective bridge between clients’ ideas and the data available to them is my favorite part of the job.
Did you have an internship? If so, how did that experience help guide you in your career?
I interned in research, sales, policy, graphic design, and analytics across a variety of industries including biomedicine, education, government, distribution, and analytics. All these roles helped me determine what I did not want to do (sales), and eventually pointed me in the direction of data analytics and visualization. However, it was not until I joined a Rotational Analyst program after graduation that I realized I could make data visualization my career. Perhaps the most valuable part of these internships was exposure to so many wonderful people with differing thought processes and life experiences. Their perspectives have made me a more agile data analyst and consultant.
What was your favorite econ class? What did you like about it?
My answer to this question has not changed in the 4 years since I wrote a student spotlight: I absolutely loved Dan Quint’s “Markets and Models” class because it completely changed the way I think about the world. However, I would add that it was my “Religious Studies for Leadership in Practice” class that prepared me most for the consulting role I have today.
The most valuable data visualizations are the ones that best serve a client’s needs. The “Leadership in Practice” class taught me how to serve a client’s needs better by suspending my own (Econ) perspective for the perspective of the client. The critical thinking skills learned in my Economics classes are invaluable to my job, but taking classes outside of the major helps me better serve the needs of others, too.
What advice would you give to a student who is trying to break into your industry?
The data analytics market is competitive right now. To distinguish yourself from the rest of the market, NETWORK with the data community. The job I have now is a direct result of the network I started to build back in college. Maybe that means attending a webinar and connecting with the presenter on LinkedIn; maybe it means creating a Tableau Public portfolio; maybe it means meeting with an Econ alum over coffee. Either way, building a strong network of peers, mentors, and sponsors is key to setting yourself apart from other aspiring data analysts.