Viktor Crothers is a Senior Manager in Data & Analytics at EY. He authored the below article to show exactly what a day in his life at the firm is like, which involves supporting the Northern Ireland Department of Health throughout Covid-19
Like the vast majority of the world, the typical working day has changed radically within the last year.
I have two young children at home, and I start the day by dropping my oldest off to nursery which gives a nice break between downtime and the start of the working day. I will then typically spend a couple of hours catching up with my teams on the various projects I am leading, before working through my daily list of tasks.
The day is full of variety with tasks including client calls, management of delivery teams/projects and hands on coding and development of Data & Analytics solutions.
A large proportion of my day is spent on zoom calls, I find blocking time in the diary for regular breaks ensures I can remain focused on the task ahead and avoid ‘zoom fatigue’.
I have been supporting the Department of Health NI with the COVID-19 response since March 2020, working across a number of projects, all of which are utilising Data & Analytics to drive decision making. I assisted the Department with the development of the COVID-19 Public Dashboard which provides daily updates on key COVID-19 information such as testing, deaths and hospital admissions. This has been a fascinating project and I feel very privileged to work alongside the Department in their mammoth efforts to combat COVID-19 in Northern Ireland.
I started my career in Big Four consulting, however I left to pursue a career in industry, as the expectation of travelling across the UK and Europe had impacted my work-life balance. I was hesitant on returning to consulting, however the attraction of working for one of the fastest growing Data & Analytics teams across Ireland, along with the level of investment and support EY dedicate to personal development and career growth made the decision easy.
I bustled my way through school and studied Business Economics at Queens University Belfast, without ever really having an idea of which industry I wanted to carve out a career from. I eventually applied for a Data Analytics Academy through the Assured Skills programme and the rest is history.
I have a real passion for supporting our clients to address their challenges and business requirements through the adoption of Data and Technology, which makes work more of a hobby. In addition, working within Data & Analytics at EY also provides unrivalled experience across industries, clients, people and technology. No single day or project is the same, each providing their own challenges and learning experiences.
There has been no better time to start a career within technology, particularly within Northern Ireland as we continue to see investment from professional services firms, start-ups and large global organisations setting-up technology hubs across the region. The technology landscape and opportunities are wide ranging, with investment in roles across Data & Analytics, Machine Learning, Software Development, Artificial Intelligence and many more.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2021 edition of the Sync NI magazine. You can download your FREE copy and sign up to recieve future digital editions here.
