>>My name is [inaudible] and I'm an
Operations Research Analyst with TASK.
I support a government contract, and I
basically take bulk data and model it in excel.
And I look for patterns and trends and
anomalies, anything that could stand out
and by using excel, we're able to create
curves and basically answer questions
that other customers come to us and ask,
based off of the models that we create.
The models that we create also go
into a tool that's used all around,
you know, within the government community.
And then, we also are now in the
process of taking other bulk data
and modeling that and figuring out patterns.
It's pretty flexible, so with the traffic in
DC, I like to kind of get in to work early.
So, I wake up around 6, get into
work by 7 o'clock in the morning.
You know, sit there, work on the
models, work on writing papers,
giving briefings, presentations,
stuff like that.
My day usually ends around
3:30 in the afternoon.
So, pretty flexible schedule, which is nice.
I would say something that
I love most about my job is,
it's unlike any other job that anyone else has.
My team is comprised of 10 modelers.
And we are the only people in the world that do
this kind of modeling, which is kind of awesome.
You know, it's really interesting, there are
certain requests that come in that vary from day
to day, so one day doesn't necessarily have
to be, the same question as what someone asks
on Monday isn't the same as
what someone asks on Tuesday.
I also get a lot of experience
and exposure to higher managers.
So, I've been able to brief
branch managers and higher ups
that someone who's only been working
two years might not get the chance
to do in other positions.
It's kind of nerve racking but it gives
me a lot of exposure to that kind of-
I would definitely take more statistics classes.
And definitely a lot more
computer science classes.
There's a lot of coding that I don't necessarily
have to do, but that I would like to learn,
that would kind of make me,
I feel like, more marketable.
If I ever were to change companies
and other careers and stuff.
So I would definitely try to learn coding
and computer science classes, I would say.
I was actually looking for an internship,
my junior year of college, and at the time,
Northrop Grumman was hiring
a bunch of finance interns.
So, I went through the Northrop Grumman
internship program, but at the time,
Northrop Grumman owned my company, which is
TASK, the analytical science corporation.
And then once I completed my internship program,
they actually offered me a full time position
to start in the summer after I graduated.
So, after I graduated, I joined TASK full time,
was put through to receive a government
clearance, and once all that came through,
they put me on a contract and here I am.
I would say in undergraduate work, the biggest
courses, I took a financial modeling class.
Now, I'm not necessarily modeling financial
data as if I was doing it in one of my courses,
but it really helped me to hone in
on those excel skills, and you know,
be able to do stuff quickly when using
excel and kind of know where everything is,
and able to run macros and
do all that kind of stuff.
So, I would say that was the most
important course that I took.
I would definitely say, when you're offered
a full time position, as awesome as it is,
you know, to even get a job with the kind of
market how it is right now and you're so anxious
when you're a senior, or whenever you're
graduating, to get a full time job,
really make sure you're reading the job
description and you know what you're applying
for and that's something that
you actually want to be doing.
You know, people are going to tell you this all
the time, it's hard to wake up every single day
if you hate something that
you're doing, and to go to work.
So, I would just say that
when you're applying to jobs,
to really look into what you're applying to.
Research the company.
Know the ins and outs of the company, what
the company stands for and stuff like that.