Career transformed through Part-time Studies: Andrew Beck’s data analytics path

Data, and the potential insight it offers, is now abundant. The growth has been so extreme that companies are stretched to find the talent to manage, let alone query, their data.

A change to a career with growth

That’s what led Andrew Beck to BCIT Computing for its part time Applied Data Analytics Certificate (ADAC) program. He studied political science at university, and had been working in supply chain management for a few years. He enjoyed the complexity of supply chain management, but it didn’t offer the career growth he was looking for.

“The company I was working for at the time had a large Business Intelligence team. Speaking with them helped me realize that data analytics and development was a career path I would be interested in,” explains Andrew.

Due to complete his part-time program next year, Andrew’s career has already been significantly enhanced. Based on his experience, Andrew reports “there is a hunger for data professionals right now. Having the Applied Data Analytics coursework listed on my Linkedin meant that I was contacted a few times a week by recruiters.”

Data skills were useful right away

“Classes at BCIT constantly used examples and assignments that were directly applicable to scenarios at my work place – I used skills I learned in classes like Data Quality Improvement and Business Analysis and Systems Design almost every day at my job.”

“By the time I had taken three classes at BCIT, I was offered an opportunity to move to the technology division of my company as an Administrator,” he reports. It didn’t end there – he credits his courses with helping him earn a promotion to Enterprise Systems Analyst within nine months of changing divisions.

Then, a year later he secured a position as a Data Developer/Consultant at a local consulting firm working in software as a service. “At this point I had been at BCIT a year and a half and my career had completely transformed” says Andrew.

He finds his work helping enterprises and large non-profit groups manage their data in complex environments is rewarding.

More to learn

“I still find that the course work I take at BCIT consistently reflects scenarios that I run into in real businesses every day – I work a large variety of clients, in disparate business verticals, but the skills I have learned at BCIT apply to all of them.”

As a lifelong learner, he’s not done yet – he’s set his sights on more courses after ADAC. His advice to others: never stop trying new technologies.

If you’d like to fine-tune – or fully reboot – your skill set, learn more at a Computing Part-time Studies infosession.