What a Business Intelligence Analyst at SAP wishes they had known before entering the Business Intelligence industry
Chalamar wishes undergraduate work would've focused more on Python, as many companies rely on it for complex backend coding, whereas their experience was primarily in R. Deeper knowledge of SQL, particularly Postgres SQL databases like "Mease," and more advanced SQL queries would have also eased the transition into the Business Intelligence Analyst role at SAP.
Programming Languages, SQL, Data Engineering, Backend Development, Technical Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Chalamar Elkridge
Business Intelligence Analyst
SAP
University of San Diego, Sacramento City College
N/A
Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Technology
Data and Analytics
Honors Student, Pell Grant Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. The importance of Python programming in business intelligence roles, as it's frequently used for backend coding in many companies, unlike R which was the focus of the interviewee's undergraduate work.
2. The need for deeper knowledge of SQL, including experience with specific database systems like Postgres SQL (Mease in this case), as the interviewee found their initial SQL skills weren't advanced enough for the role.
3. The reality that academic training may not perfectly align with industry needs, requiring a willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies and tools on the job.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
A lot of my undergraduate work focused on R programming. I learned that not many companies use R.
Most companies use Python. I wish I had known this before starting this role, as I could have focused more on Python to better understand different concepts. This is especially true for backend coding.
A lot of the backend coding is done in Python and it's quite complex. I also needed to learn more deeply about SQL, as there are many different uses for it. We use something called Mease, which is a PostgreSQL database.
Not knowing what Mease was when I started the role required some adjustment. My SQL queries also weren't as advanced as I would have liked, so that's something else I wish I had learned more about.