Name: Megan D’Arcy
Role: Information Analyst at Allstate
What does your typical day look like?
My first daily task is to sort through my emails and messages before joining my team’s morning scrum. I use the quiet time between Scrum and afternoon meetings to work through my stories and do pair programming. In the evening I meet up again with my team for updates and Team time. I am also responsible for creating social events like wellbeing sessions and Music Monday so I give over some of my time to preparing this part of my work too as it has proved popular and effective.
What are you currently working on?
At the minute I am automating a series of pipelines that contribute to a main pipeline. This project involved changing over where the tables are refreshed. I have looked at running, scoring and models of 5 pipelines that contribute to a big refresh within my team. I have just completed validation and testing to ensure all upstream and downstream dependency are satisfied.
What inspired you to join this company in particular?
I took part in a data demo at an Allstate Insights Week. I loved everything about it; Even the interview process where I was able to showcase my lateral thinking, team skills and creativity in a welcoming environment. The style of interview really impressed me as it was rooted in the core values Allstate look for. They offered me a position in D3, which combined both aspects of my course Maths and Computer science.
Did you always want to work in this industry (tech)?
Yes, It is important to me that what I do is maths based, I love working with Data and have interest in Ai, Machine Learning and Cyber.
What’s your favourite part about your work?
I love creating packages and environments. Each week there is time dedicated to personal learning which I use to learn more techniques I have done a git deep dive and have a think week coming up where I will try to make a chatbot
What would you say to other people considering a job in this industry (tech)?
Explore everything out there. Tech is so diverse and it has something to offer many different skills and disciplines. Reach out to people like me and have a chat with us about what we do and attend the Tech Fairs to chat to people who work in the role. Attending meetups are always a good shout.
