tell us what you do El D ripoff thread

[Gildwulf]

Such a good bunch of questions and I'm curious to hear from people in bbv:

What do you do? Do you like it? What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? What kind of people do best in your work? What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? What is a typical day like? What kind of problems do you encounter? What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? How much do you make? How much can one expect to make in your position?

Edit: Adding some questions...how old are you and what is your education level (from what school)? How long have you been in the workforce?

[DING-DONG YO]

TAKE THIS POOP BACK TO OOT/EDF!!!!!

[DING-DONG YO]

j/k, I'm curious too. I will reply with more detail when I have some more time today.

[Gildwulf]

What do you do?

Public Affairs Research Consultant at a consulting firm on Bay Street in Toronto. I do everything from statistical analysis using SPSS to making presentations to client relations to helping run focus groups to creating questionnaires. I have my hand in at least 7 different projects at a time and I'm project leader on usually 3-4 projects at a time.

Do you like it? Most of the time it is very challenging and engaging work.


What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? My skillset is perfect for my job. I have a strong background in politics/public policy, so I understand the basic issues we look at every day in a broader sense. I have excellent research skills, as I worked as a research assistant for two years in my Bachelor's degree. I write very well and type quickly so I can meet the sometimes brutal deadlines (especially for media). I also have good 'boardroom presence' which is an important part of client relations. And a good sense of humour, which is important in any profession that involves schmoozing.


What kind of people do best in your work? Smart people who can talk about public policy who are good shmoozers, good writers and can run a set of numbers and understand it easily.


What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? Everyone else at my office is 25+, has an advanced degree in public policy, economics or business and 3-5 years work experience. I am 22 with an Honours degree in political science from a top school and good research experience, and a semester's worth of credits at UChicago where I dropped out of my MA. I lucked out big time.


What is a typical day like? Coffee to start at 9am, browse 2p2, meetings. Client calls. Running data analysis, writing questionnaires, lunch, 2p2, contacting the media, billing clients, writing syndicated reports, 2p2, content analysis and writing, go home around 7pm.


What kind of problems do you encounter? Very very tight deadlines and overload of projects.


What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? The timelines can be difficult. Getting projects in the media is always fun (I just had a four page spread of a poll I did in a major syndicated magazine. I also regularly publish polls in Canada's major newspapers.)


How much do you make? Low for Bay Street but I get paid more than anyone else in my age cohort I know.


How much can one expect to make in your position? low six figures

Age 22

Education Honors Polisci degree from McGill university, some MA courses at UChicago.

How long in work force less than a year

[danzasmack]

What do you do?
I'm an economist for the Department of Finance, specifically working with tax-policy related legislation/policy.

Do you like it?
I'm convinced I don't know yet. Some days I do and some days I don't. I never mind the work but that's because it makes sense to me/feels easy. I think I would be better suited elsewhere more now than ever but not sure.

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work?
I'm a fast learner, analytical, independent. We have a lot of kinks in what we do because of data quality, etc. so you have to be able to think on your toes and account for stuff like this. There's computer involved which I'm good at and stat which i'm very good at.

What kind of people do best in your work?
People like me, but who aren't as outgoing. Sometimes i feel all caged up because it's so quiet and I get nothing done. My own office/ability to wear headphones would change that.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you?
Most of the people in positions "above" me have PHDs. Everybody here has a college education except for the 'accountants' who just punch numbers into spreadsheets/models I help create. Degree in Econ is probably a must, or a degree in accounting. Oddly enough I had no education as far as Tax law goes, but i guess you learn that on the go.

What is a typical day like?
Get in between 9 and 9:30. I'm supposed to get in at 9 but that means I'm "supposed" to leave at 5 (srsly working for the government = fantastic hours) but people gave me dirty looks when I left early so I don't do that and leave every day after 5:30. Usually get in, get some water and fat-guy oatmeal. Check email, browse 2p2, start work. Work until lunch, get lunch, eat at desk while reading interwebs, back to work. Usually around 3ish things pick up and i start running around to discuss what i'm doing/get input. Then stay til that 'phase' is done. The office is kinda divided into 2 parts - data processing (taking samples of data, cleaning the data and creating samples) and policy analysis. I work with both groups - helping create the software for data cleaning and doing analysis (why i took the job) for the policy people.

What kind of problems do you encounter?
[censored] data. I've been watching "The Wire" so i'm very into corruption. yesterday my coworkers discussed some cases with me and I think that's cool. Also, resources are an issue. Working for the city it takes like months to get a new computer and stuff like that.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation?
Frustration - things not working. The people.
Elation - I just like when I do my job well and somebody tells me. There's no light at the end of the tunnel for me thus far, this world moves much slower than those in finance.

How much do you make?
So far in 2007 I have made more playing poker.

How much can one expect to make in your position?
I honestly have no idea.

AGE: 22
Education: Double Major in Mathematics and Economics (holla NOT joint major) from NYU
Work force: Graduated in may of '06, started working full time right away

[whipsaw]

this is a good thread and I will respond while eating lunch

[so sick bro]

What do you do?

After [censored] up at Boston University, I'm home at community college trying to get my grades back up so I can return. I also go to the gym and smoke a lot of pot.


Do you like it?







What kind of problems do you encounter?

living with my parents again after half a year of freedom

Age

19

Education

lol

[danzasmack]

HEY ALL WORK CHALLENGES ALSO ADD IT IS COLD IN THE AWESOME BUT INSTEAD OF A SWEATER SOMEBODY HAS THEIR OWN HEATER

CIRCUIT BREAKER FLIP BOOYAH ALL WORK FROM MORNING GONE HOLLA

[diebitter]

I wake up screaming, stagger through the hellish hours between rising and getting back to bed like a dizzy zombie, and then go to sleep crying.

[Dids]

I MOSTLY POST IN ALL CAPS FOR A LIVING

(this is frightenly true for the past few days, I really should be working now, but it's very hard to get started).