Prosancons

Informational Interview
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Purpose 3
1.2 Self Introduction 3
1.3 Interviewee Introduction 3
1.4 Career Path 3
1.5 Job Description and Responsibilities 4
1.6 Skills 4
1.7 Qualifications 4
1.8 Advice 5

2 Work Culture 5
2.1 Work Hours 5
2.2 Environment 6
2.3 Salary and Benefits 6

3 Conclusion 6
3.1 Summary 6
3.2 Analysis 7
3.3 Future 7

4 Works Cited 7
1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

I conducted a video interview with Sara Gu. This informational report covers information about
myself and the interviewee. In this report, I discuss the steps to start one’s journey into the world
of a data analyst and information on the job description and responsibilities, skills and
qualifications, career path and advice, and work environment and benefits will be discussed in
this report.

1.2 Self Introduction

I am a senior data science statistics major. I have experience programming in many different
languages such as C++, R language, Python, and SQL. I will be graduating in the spring and am
exploring job opportunities. ​I am interested in a data analyst position, so to gain more
information about data analysts, I interviewed a senior data analyst to determine my readiness to
work as a data analyst.
 

1.3 Interviewee Introduction

Senior data analyst, Sara Gu, works at UnitedHealth Group and mainly focuses on analyzing
and improving clinical data to decrease excessive spending. When she initially joined the
workforce, she worked as a strategic data analyst, since the data analyst data had not been
created yet. ​Sara was able to carry over similar skills when transitioning from a strategic data
analyst to a data analyst because the work was similar.

1.4 Career Path

1. Graduated from University of Portland with a Masters degree in statistics.
2. Previously worked at Qualcomm as a strategic marketing analyst.
3. Currently works at UnitedHealth group in the research and data analysis division.
1.5 Job Description and Responsibilities
Data analysts collect, analyze, and explain data. The analyst analyzes data using a variety of
programming languages to create statistical models and graphics and to provide solutions for the
company.

The data analyst first cleans the data set, which involves fixing typos, discarding duplicates, or
removing outliers​. ​After the data is cleaned, the data analyst can manipulate the data to show a
trend, pattern, correlation, or model.​ ​The analyst then converts the data ​ into a report which can
be easily understood by people with or without statistical knowledge to make decisions for the
company.

As a data analyst in UnitedHealth group, the analyst works with data involving disease to
understand, educate, and prevent transfer of diseases. ​Researchers collect data through a variety
of methods such as surveys, observations, questionnaires, and studies​. From analyzing the data,
the researchers can understand health trends and patterns, risks, and health-related statistics to
improve clinical decisions and decrease excessive spending (Glassdoor).

Sara evaluates the costs and benefits with statistical techniques on the data. Some of these
techniques involve cleaning the data quickly, optimizing the model efficiently, and interpreting
the results correctly.

1.6 Skills
UnitedHealth requires data analysts to have the following skills:
● BS preferred in statistics or either in mathematics or computer science
● R: a simple programming language for statistical functions and visuals on data
● SQL: a programming language for receiving and updating data
● Python: a programming language for developing complex functions and simplify data
analysis and visualization.
● SAS: an advanced programing language for statistical data analysis.
● Excel: an extremely simple programming method for calculations, visuals, and tables.
● Strong verbal and communication skills: Ability to interpret and explain results in an
understandable meaningful way to people with or without statistical backgrounds (Gu)

1.7 Qualifications
● Analysis of Variance
 ● Regression Analysis
● Probability Theory
● Mathematical Statistics
● Fundamentals of Statistical Data Science
● Data and Web Technologies for Data Analysis
● Big Data and High Performance Statistical Computing
● Multivariate Data Analysis
● Machine Learning
● Linear Algebra
● GPA only for the first job (UCDavis)

1.8 Advice
Sara said, “Statistical courses is the starting point to for data analysts.” Taking statistical courses
will provide beneficial understanding for probability theories, different distribution types,
hypothesis testing, estimations, and confidence intervals. Afterwards, she suggests that potential
analysts collaborate under a professor on statistical research or work an internship in a company.
She continued, “Working with big data in school is much different than the real world. The data
for school projects are nice and simple; there is no challenge in them. In the real world, the data
has many errors, typos, and duplicates. You have to decide whether the information you are
provided is satisfactory.” Another method to gain experience is to participate in Kaggle online
competitions to work on real life data situations. This is perfect practice, since it provides
students with the opportunity to work on all sorts of data.

2 Work Culture

2.1 Work Hours

Sara works from 9am-5pm on the weekday and has to work on Saturday. However, the workers
still have to spend many days working overtime.

Sara’s day to day schedule is “ usually working from home.” “I enjoy working at home because I
can take my time doing my projects.” She starts the day off answering emails that she received.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, she has a meeting with her team to discuss the goals of their
current project. She also has to call her clients to talk about the progress on the project. One good
reason for having a data science job is that “there is a lot of job security in this field.” Despite all
these good traits, Sara disliked some aspects such as the “ hassle about the job is that I need to be
available all the time to talk to my clients.” However, the biggest hassle is that “Sometimes the
data is not clean and there’s a lot of missing data, so it is difficult to analyze” (Gu).

2.2 Environment
Unlike other data companies, UnitedHealth
Group provides hundreds of jobs for data
analysts and doctors. Employees have the
ability to work from home or at the office;
therefore they will rarely be at the office.
Thus, conversations rely heavily on online
video chat or instant messages and emails. Unitedhealth Group

2.3 Salary and Benefits

Entry level data analyst salary averages around 30-40k. Senior data analyst salary can average to
70k. ​Employees may receive benefits such as 401k savings and healthcare coverage for
themselves and their families​ (Gu).

3 Conclusion

3.1 Summary
● Take statistical courses
● Learn R, Python, SQL, if able to learn SAS
● Participate in research, Kaggle, or internship

Smith
3.2 Analysis
Overall, I believe that I am well prepared to take a data analyst role for an entry level data
analyst role. However for the UnitedHealth Group data analyst position, I would not fit the
criteria. To start, the senior position requires several years worth of experience which I do not
meet. Moreover, I would have to learn SAS language.

3.3 Future
I need to gain more experience through working as an internship or in a job. If I want to work at
UnitedHealth Group, I need to learn SAS and understand basic biology material. Overall, I
believe that acquiring a data analyst position is incredibly close for me.

4 Works Cited
UCDavis, “B.S. in Statistics: Statistical Data Science.” ​UC Davis Department of Statistics​,
statistics.ucdavis.edu/undergrad/bs-statistical-data-science-track.
Glassdoor. (n.d.). UnitedHealth Group Reviews. Retrieved October 16, 2018, from
https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/UnitedHealth-Group-Reviews-E1991.htm?utm_source=g
oogle_jobs_reviews&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=google_jobs_reviews
Gu, Sara. “Data Scientist Interview.” 8 Oct. 2018.
Prosancons. (2018, April 15). Pros and cons of statistics. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from
https://www.prosancons.com/education/pros-and-cons-of-statistics/
Smith, S. (2017, March 02). Kaggle. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from
https://smist08.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/playing-the-kaggle-two-sigma-challenge/kaggle/
UnitedHealth Group. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.2ndvote.com/business-entity/unitedhealth-group/