A Day In The Life Of An Analyst At State Government
As an analyst in state government/higher education, a day revolves around two phases: the "development side," understanding a company's needs and how they want to benefit from workforce training, and the "monitoring side," managing contracts and project performance, particularly crucial in performance-based contracts where funding is tied to achievements. The role is about understanding patterns and trends, planning, executing, and adapting to potential scenarios to "find a way forward and communicate clearly so that [performance] can be achieved."
Data Analysis, Project Management, Communication, Problem-Solving, Planning and Execution
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Daniel Alvarez
Analyst/Professor
State Government / Higher Education
ITAM
University of San Diego - MBA
Political Science, American Studies
Education, Government & Public Sector
Business Strategy
Video Highlights
1. An analyst's role involves understanding a situation, creating a plan, and projecting a trajectory forward.
2. The job has two phases: development (understanding client needs) and monitoring (managing contracts and project performance).
3. Key aspects of the role include understanding patterns, trends, potential scenarios, and communicating clearly to achieve performance.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of an analyst look like?
As the title suggests, you are tasked with understanding discovery, comprehending the situation, creating a plan, and projecting a trajectory forward. So, as an analyst, my job has two phases.
The first is the development side, where I sit down with the company to understand their needs and wants. I assess how they plan to grow, what they need to explore, and how they aim to benefit from training or developing their workforce.
The second phase is the monitoring side. This involves managing the contract and project management. It’s about tracking our progress in terms of training, funding, and accomplishments.
What we do is a performance-based contract. If they don't perform, we don't receive payment. If they do perform, they get their full paycheck, and we can reapply for more funds the following year.
This involves understanding patterns, signals, and trends, and being aware of potential scenarios. It's about asking questions like: If A happens, then what if B happens? What if C happens? What is the probability of A happening if B occurs? What do we need to achieve A, and what assumptions are we working under?
So, it's a lot of planning, execution, and adaptability. As an analyst, the main job is to understand the situation, find a way forward, and communicate clearly so that performance can be achieved.