Humza

University: University of Warwick

Degree: Mathematics

Graduate Opportunity: Big Data & Analytics

My Background

I did my degree in Maths at the University of Warwick and was initially unsure of what I wanted to do after I finished. At a careers fair at the start of my final year, I spoke to someone from the Atos stand who told me that Atos was “the biggest company you’ve never heard of before” and explained about all the fascinating projects they had been involved with in a wide variety of sectors. They also told me about the unique, flexible environment the company has, and I could immediately see myself working there. Atos had such a wide variety of graduate opportunities that I knew there would be something I would enjoy, so after looking into everything in more detail online, I chose to apply to the big data and analytics scheme as it seemed it would help me apply all the skills I learned in a practical way.

There is a fantastic graduate community at Atos and we are always supporting each other, both in and out of work. It is very easy to talk to people and make friends within the company, and get advice on career progression, what training to do, or just about life in general. There are many opportunities to get involved with projects outside your daily role. For example, I am on the STEMNET committee within the Graduate, Intern & Apprentice community and I go out to talk to schools about the importance of STEM subjects and encourage young students to consider these career opportunities.

What’s more, Atos is very focussed on having a flexible working environment for its people: many have the opportunity to work from home, which can be a nice change to needing to commute every morning.

My job summed up

The Business Intelligence (BI) team in the Data Analytics practice at Atos is focused on drawing useful conclusions from the vast array of data that a business has and then visualising them so that they can make informed business decisions. Big data is a powerful tool but can sometimes be daunting at first, so my team helps businesses to put this to use and in turn increase their efficiency where possible.

In my role, I speak to clients about what they are looking for in their data visualisations and manage their data dashboards. I have been involved in a variety of projects at Atos – the most interesting was analysing data from a series of sensors in the alcohol industry. The team is incredibly supportive and since joining, I have been on technical training courses on SQL, Python and Power BI. I have also been able to reach out to other people whenever I have had any questions or problems.

A day in my life

0900-1100

I tend to start the day by checking up on my morning emails and having a quick meeting with my team to review the tasks that need to be completed during the day. Since the kind of work we do can be so varied, no two days are the same. I like to have a set list of things I want to achieve on my to-do list so I can keep track of what I’ve accomplished during the day.

1100-1300

It’s important to keep active at work, so I like to go for a quick walk in the mid-morning in the park next to the London office to keep myself energised and to help me keep my focus. I’ll continue working on my project dashboard and update it accordingly with the new datasets that arrive and then send them off to the rest of the team for review.

1300-1500

Lunch with the grads and other colleagues; there are always people to sit and chat to during lunch. After lunch, I’ll work on some of my responsibilities outside my day-to-day job. I’m on the STEMNET committee in the GIA community so I’ll work on developing some presentations to schools about the importance of STEM subjects and work on events at which I can help out. I’m also part of the Graduate and Intern campus team so I go to various careers fairs and speak to students about life at Atos and the opportunities they could have here.

1500-1700

I’ll take the chance to have a call with my team about any changes to the BI project work I’ve been doing. I’ll also talk to the account teams directly to see whether they have any new requirements for the project. It’s important you never stop learning as you grow, so I like to take the time to learn new skills in the workplace, such as new software programs or coding. Atos is heavily focused on providing this support to its graduates, so my manager is keen to help with my personal development.

1700 till late …

I like to spend the last part of the working day finishing up tasks on my to-do list and getting everything ready for the next day. It’s also a great chance to catch up on any general admin work, such as expenses or timesheets. After work, I like to unwind with some of the other grads by going out for dinner or drinks. I also like to keep active outside work by going to the gym and doing yoga, which keeps my mind and body healthy.