A Day in the Life of an Independent Impact and Evaluation Consultant
A day for Rakhee, an Impact & Evaluation Consultant, involves a dynamic mix of "planning meetings," collaborative sessions with colleagues and clients, and facilitating workshops, interspersed with focused work on data analysis, presentation preparation, and research; the work often extends into evenings to balance family commitments, resulting in a flexible but demanding schedule.
Project Management, Data Analysis, Communication, Teamwork, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Rakhee Patel
Impact & Evaluation Consultant
Independent Consultant
Wellesley College (studied abroad for 1 semester at University College London)
UCLA | M.S. and Ph.D. in Statistics (2011)
Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Consulting
Honors Student, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Impact and evaluation consulting involves a mix of planning meetings, collaborative work with colleagues and clients, and facilitating working sessions.
2. Consultants often conduct interviews and analyze data to prepare presentations and reports.
3. The work can be flexible, with some consultants balancing work with childcare responsibilities and working both during the day and in the evenings to meet deadlines and project needs
Transcript
What does a day in the life of an impact and evaluation consultant look like?
It depends on the day. As I mentioned, I have many different jobs and clients at any given time. My work is mostly a mix of getting my kids to school.
After that, it's a mix of planning meetings and collaborative meetings with my colleagues. I prefer to work with friends on projects rather than alone. If I'm close with my clients, we'll have many collaborative meetings.
Sometimes I'm facilitating a working session with a client and their team. Other times, I'm doing interviews. So, a typical day is usually a mix of these meetings.
Hopefully, I try to carve out at least some time to actually do my work. I have to pick up my kids and am with them from three to nine. I often work until three and then log back on at night for uninterrupted work time.
So it depends on the day. I try not to work late, but sometimes that's my me time. I only work a few hours during the day.
When I am working, I'm usually doing analysis or making slide decks to present information in an easy-to-digest way. I also do research.