An interview with Somdeep Kumar Sen
Somdeep may have come from a small town in West Bengal, but has launched his career as an Analytics professional in a short time. Discipline and focus has stood him well, as he always knew what he wanted to do.
An alumni of IVY Professional School’s Data Analytics programme, Somdeep is a Business Analyst with the India Head Office of the global firm Trimax Analytics & Optimization, located at Mumbai.
We asked him a few questions for an insight into his achievement.
What got you interested in analytics?
Marketing research has always interested me. While doing a stint of work after my post-grad I discovered I liked to work with data. But I realised that I needed additional skills, and that was analytics. I walked into IVY and after learning of the curriculum, I realised this was something I would like to specialise in.
I understand your MBA was in marketing. How do you think it has helped you – in getting this job?
Well, my work involves marketing and retail analytics. So definitely an MBA has helped me, especially to understand the client business.
What certifications did you procure?
The Data Analytics weekend programme from Ivy Professional School and AWS certification from Amazon in Business and Technical competency.
What soft skills do you believe you possess, which have helped you along the way?
Listening patiently. That is my biggest strength. Also the willingness to learn something new. My knack of understanding how a business works, was another plus.
How much do you think the above (certifications / soft skills) helped you in landing this job?
Definitely it was the certification in Analytics. As for soft skills, I think my ability to listen and to present.
What are your principal takeaways from IVY Professional School?
Training on the SAS. My teacher was extremely helpful and gave me personal attention whenever I required.
Besides, the personal touch of the entire administration, faculty and trainers. They taught me to be patient, perseverant, and to believe in myself. And to keep working on my skills.
Tell us something about your job position. How much has your learning helped you? And where do you think are the gaps?
Well, as a Business Analyst, both my Marketing and Analytics specializations have helped me. Especially the foundations in statistical analysis.
However, there is a gap between actual learning and the work scene, which maybe common for all jobs, I wouldn’t know.
When I first joined, I felt all my learning had not prepared me for the understanding client operations. It was the client business/industry that I needed to understand first before I could work further. Fortunately, I had a bit of work experience in market research before getting the job, so I was able to catch on fast.
Which techniques have so far been most useful to you?
Excel invariably becomes your best friend. Of course, I use SQL to fetch data from client database. I am still waiting for opportunity with SAS.
Your leaning is towards the Big Data ecosystem. How do you plan to enhance your know-how in this area?
I have developed some insights on ‘R’ and hope to take some training on Hadoop. I do have some idea on Hive and Map Reduce. I am also working on machine learning techniques like Bayes and CHAID Algorithm. Social media analysis, especially sentiment analysis and text analytics to be more specific is of great interest to me, and I am developing my knowledge on this too.
What do you do in your spare time?
Work out in the gym, play PC games, spend time with friends and family; and of course brush up on my ‘R’.
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
As a Manager in Business Analytics, working at Kolkata perhaps – in marketing and retail analytics.
We wish him all the best in his career path and aspirations, and believe he will be able to achieve them because of his grit, discipline, perseverance and drive to learn.