Career Advice (this is weird I get it)

[nomunic]

Hello everyone!

To be honest, I don’t have many people to ask for help, but I find you guys to be experienced and most clearly know more than me. I’m 24 years old working as a business analyst within the pharma industry. I feel as if my job is not giving me the experience I need (been here for 1.5 years, haven’t learned any technical skills but soft skills have been strongly developed). What should I do? I’ve been applying with no success, I’m even interested in moving into management positions or even something different. One thing I can’t stand is feeling like I’m not doing anything, that’s where the cars come in lol.

I’m grateful to be where I am and am just looking for advice and insight.

P.s. I can share my resume if anyone wouldn’t mind helping out or sharing. Lastly, if this isn’t allowed please just take it down. Thanks guys! Also shared my bike for attention maybe.

 

[uglybastard]

Alright a few questions.. what are you doing to sell yourself professionally? Linkedin? Are you connecting with folks like recruiters?

What is your career ambition? And why is that your ambition? What gaps exist between your skillset now and where you want to be? Are there certifications or other degrees you can get along the way?

 

[cb1111]

Alright a few questions.. what are you doing to sell yourself professionally? Linkedin? Are you connecting with folks like recruiters?

What is your career ambition? And why is that your ambition? What gaps exist between your skillset now and where you want to be? Are there certifications or other degrees you can get along the way?

Spot on and there are so many other questions.

What is your education and why did you pick the job you are in? What do you want to do when you grow up? - as in "If I could do anything, I'd like to be a ....."

What is it that you don't like about your current job? What do you like about it? What experience do you think that you should have gained in a year and a half? What technical skills are lacking and what soft skills have you gained?

And that is just for starters.

 

[nomunic]

Alright a few questions.. what are you doing to sell yourself professionally? Linkedin? Are you connecting with folks like recruiters?

What is your career ambition? And why is that your ambition? What gaps exist between your skillset now and where you want to be? Are there certifications or other degrees you can get along the way?

I actually have some friends who are recruiters helping me out with some things and I am not active on LinkedIn (I have a profile) and probably should be. I always assumed posting on LinkedIn required a higher experienced level to be of any value.

My career ambition, well to start I enjoy talking to people, especially after this 1.5 year experience. I spent the entire time meeting with teams, gaining knowledge on their issue (ex. We have some random excel file with a bunch of tables, can you explain to us their relationship). I enjoyed just grabbing the info and figuring out an answer. I think this can really be applied to a lot of areas. I have a list from my manager, who recently retired, and he said I need to have some knowledge of python for data analysis, R, outstanding Excel skills, outstanding SQL skills, and finally PowerBI or Tableau for visualizations.

Spot on and there are so many other questions.

What is your education and why did you pick the job you are in? What do you want to do when you grow up? - as in "If I could do anything, I'd like to be a ....."

What is it that you don't like about your current job? What do you like about it? What experience do you think that you should have gained in a year and a half? What technical skills are lacking and what soft skills have you gained?

And that is just for starters.

I have a degree in computer science, with no interest in any development roles; I prefer people. If I could be anything, I would love to have been a police officer or own my own shop (which I still believe will happen eventually). In my current role (which has been fairly inactive since August) I enjoyed learning the patience required when working in a corporate environment, especially one where the majority of coworkers are not on US soil. I also enjoyed listening to people and aiding them with their questions; I liked being respected and relied on. I liked giving presentations on things I studied a lot on, and enjoyed talking about my self improvement each week to my boss. I hated feeling like I wasn't doing anything during the slow weeks/months. I hated the slow pace of things, sometimes working on a powerpoint for a month straight. I still hate the feeling of job insecurity and the slow days really impact my morale, especially considering that I haven't been asked to really do anything since August now.

In 1.5 years, I was hoping to gain some more technical experience with things like SQL, Python, Tableau, and Excel rather than just being told to learn in eventually. I definitely have developed a strong ability to listen and comprehend what someone is actually saying, I would say I can "coerce" people around an idea fairly well. I have developed maturity in my thought, looking at the positive aspects of things and being hopeful/realistic in my approaches. Lastly, being patient and letting people talk and lead conversation, sometimes saying things is less important than just listening.


I hope this makes sense, again if you would like to see my resume, I would love to share it with any of you. The job I have is in consulting, I am thinking some local company or office may be a better fit. This company has over half a million employees.

If it means anything, sometimes I feel like I can do anything. I went from working in a fish market, fast food, retail, IT tech, Marketing, and now business analytics. I have never felt incapable.

 

[cb1111]

I'm going to be brutally honest and this is not at all personal, but after having managed people and programs for 30+ years, I'm afraid that this is a common scenario and only you can change it.

There are lots of learning opportunities for each of the programs you mentioned and your company most likely has a policy for paying for work related classes - you'll just need to research that and figure out what the requirements are - most likely a justification of how that class (or classes) will benefit the company,

Find a niche for yourself - maybe it is making the presentations in the division and be ready to explain why your presentations are better than anyone else's.

Or maybe your niche is being able to explain complex topics in a way that is easy to understand.

But may also be overestimating your abilities and may want to take a hard look at that too. Talk to your manager that just retired and ask them to tell you what they think. Since they are gone, they should feel like they can be honest.

 

[Acadia18]

I need to have some knowledge of python for data analysis, R, outstanding Excel skills, outstanding SQL skills, and finally PowerBI or Tableau for visualizations.

I misread at first and thought you said you already had those skills, and was going to say; if you're not making over $100k, you're being vastly underpaid.

 

[nomunic]

I'm going to be brutally honest and this is not at all personal, but after having managed people and programs for 30+ years, I'm afraid that this is a common scenario and only you can change it.

There are lots of learning opportunities for each of the programs you mentioned and your company most likely has a policy for paying for work related classes - you'll just need to research that and figure out what the requirements are - most likely a justification of how that class (or classes) will benefit the company,

Find a niche for yourself - maybe it is making the presentations in the division and be ready to explain why your presentations are better than anyone else's.

Or maybe your niche is being able to explain complex topics in a way that is easy to understand.

But may also be overestimating your abilities and may want to take a hard look at that too. Talk to your manager that just retired and ask them to tell you what they think. Since they are gone, they should feel like they can be honest.

Thanks for this, it’s nice to hear something constructive for once and not just people blowing steam up mine, appreciate it!

I misread at first and thought you said you already had those skills, and was going to say; if you're not making over $100k, you're being vastly underpaid.

If I was making over 100k I’d have an R at least

 

[GIACUser]

I was a manager of people for most of my career and the last 25 years was spent as an executive director of technology at a large university. The university of course is a natural place for a lot of students to start their professional careers as many of them have worked in departments as student workers, interns etc.

You obviously are not long out of college and are right on track, though it may not seem like it. College grads typically would transition from students as they graduate right into professional positions if things go well. Given the labor market currently the odds are in the students favor.

The environment of school in general is all programmed for you and to be successful is to take the work seriously and just do it. Transition to the workforce and it is a whole new ball game. Instead of paying to go, you are being paid to go and work. Often newly graduated persons have difficulty grasping the difference and the expectations of holding a job. In college you pick out a degree, there is a list of classes for you to take and if you just do the work or not, you are good to go either way.

When you transition to the workforce you are often placed in an entry level position and you like many young eager folks want to do more. What I can tell you, is you are now in charge of your own education and success. You have been at your job 18 months. It normally takes 12 months just to settle in and start carrying your own weight. As a computer science major I am a little surprised you don't already have intermediate SQL data skills and decent level of skill in Python.

If you work at it you will eventually find the career that suits you, probably when you least expect it and it will probably be a good fit because of the various paths and approaches to work and problems that led you there.

I have a couple of nuggets of wisdom that were passed on to me at various stages that served me well. I will take some liberties with my nuggets and apply them to you.

Every problem is an opportunity to make things better.
Example - you are in a new job and you are under utilized.
Solutions - get out there and find out how your company operates, know who pulls the levers and talk to as many workers as you can to better understand their workloads and needs. From that education you then sit down and generate solutions for problems that you think you can make better for your company. Then go sell them to those that pull the levers. You will be busier than you ever wanted to be. Make yourself valuable, knowledge and solutions are gold. Become an authority and an expert in your area.

Approach each job you take with the idea you are committed to a minimum of 2 years and that in those 2 years you plan on being more successful than any other person at 2 years. Part of learning to be a good manager is learning how to be a successful employee.

When and if you eventually begin to manage others. Remember that good management is the art of getting people to do things for you because they want to do them for you. When you are a manager, take really good care of your employees and they will take really good care of the work.

You can't be passive in the workforce if you are ambitious. Working for a huge Pharma company for the first time you should be exhausted trying to learn as much as you can about your company and it needs in the first 18 months.

Anyway, I sound too parental, get out there, give it your best by making things happen, not waiting for them to happen. If you know you need a skill for you job, get on it yesterday.

Good Luck to you

 

[nomunic]

I was a manager of people for most of my career and the last 25 years was spent as an executive director of technology at a large university. The university of course is a natural place for a lot of students to start their professional careers as many of them have worked in departments as student workers, interns etc.

You obviously are not long out of college and are right on track, though it may not seem like it. College grads typically would transition from students as they graduate right into professional positions if things go well. Given the labor market currently the odds are in the students favor.

The environment of school in general is all programmed for you and to be successful is to take the work seriously and just do it. Transition to the workforce and it is a whole new ball game. Instead of paying to go, you are being paid to go and work. Often newly graduated persons have difficulty grasping the difference and the expectations of holding a job. In college you pick out a degree, there is a list of classes for you to take and if you just do the work or not, you are good to go either way.

When you transition to the workforce you are often placed in an entry level position and you like many young eager folks want to do more. What I can tell you, is you are now in charge of your own education and success. You have been at your job 18 months. It normally takes 12 months just to settle in and start carrying your own weight. As a computer science major I am a little surprised you don't already have intermediate SQL data skills and decent level of skill in Python.

If you work at it you will eventually find the career that suits you, probably when you least expect it and it will probably be a good fit because of the various paths and approaches to work and problems that led you there.

I have a couple of nuggets of wisdom that were passed on to me at various stages that served me well. I will take some liberties with my nuggets and apply them to you.

Every problem is an opportunity to make things better.
Example - you are in a new job and you are under utilized.
Solutions - get out there and find out how your company operates, know who pulls the levers and talk to as many workers as you can to better understand their workloads and needs. From that education you then sit down and generate solutions for problems that you think you can make better for your company. Then go sell them to those that pull the levers. You will be busier than you ever wanted to be. Make yourself valuable, knowledge and solutions are gold. Become an authority and an expert in your area.

Approach each job you take with the idea you are committed to a minimum of 2 years and that in those 2 years you plan on being more successful than any other person at 2 years. Part of learning to be a good manager is learning how to be a successful employee.

When and if you eventually begin to manage others. Remember that good management is the art of getting people to do things for you because they want to do them for you. When you are a manager, take really good care of your employees and they will take really good care of the work.

You can't be passive in the workforce if you are ambitious. Working for a huge Pharma company for the first time you should be exhausted trying to learn as much as you can about your company and it needs in the first 18 months.

Anyway, I sound too parental, get out there, give it your best by making things happen, not waiting for them to happen. If you know you need a skill for you job, get on it yesterday.

Good Luck to you

Thank you for this response, I think there is a repeating pattern in the replies I’m getting here. I need to take control and learn what I don’t know, while also creating opportunity for myself by providing a solution to a problem at the company I work at (and being the best at it).

It’s just time to straighten myself out and pull myself out of this rut I’m in.

 

[uglybastard]

Get your LinkedIn profile going and make sure you find a few truthful buzzwords to get your profile visibility. Don't be explicit about looking for a new job, you want external recruiters to make note of you and try to connect without showing you hand to your company. Connect with colleagues and friends to grow your network, and then give it some time.

 

[Acadia18]

Get your LinkedIn profile going and make sure you find a few truthful buzzwords to get your profile visibility. Don't be explicit about looking for a new job, you want external recruiters to make note of you and try to connect without showing you hand to your company. Connect with colleagues and friends to grow your network, and then give it some time.

I need to do that. My LinkedIn profile hasn't been updated in 5 years rofl.

 

[uglybastard]

I need to do that. My LinkedIn profile hasn't been updated in 5 years rofl.

Yeah and the notion that having an active profile there means you're looking for a job is the wrong way to look at it. Networking is not job seeking.

 

[Acadia18]

If I was making over 100k I’d have an R at least

You don't even need all of them. Out of that list, I have outstanding Excel skills. Very minimal SQL and Tableau/PowerBI, and I drive an R. Get very proficient in even one of those skills, and you can parlay it into a new job/career. We hire kids all day long who are fresh out of college and barely above the drinking age who can develop Tableau dashboards.

And in general, I find the crossover of skills interesting. For example, I had a Tableau developer on our team come to me last week for help to simplify a process she had in Excel. Her mind was blown, like completely in awe, when I added a drop down list to her sheet. Something most people who know any bit of Excel knowledge consider basic af. And here we have a Tableau developer, someone in general I'd call way smarter and more skilled than myself (definitely getting paid more than myself ), and I rocked her world with 2 clicks and 3 seconds.

 

[uglybastard]

I rocked her world with 2 clicks and 3 seconds.

Oh my

 

[Acadia18]

Oh my

My usual M.O.