Working as a data and analytics engineer, I've developed valuable skill sets and exposure to emerging technologies. Situations have arisen having to come up with creative solutions under pressure, present technical processes to nontechnical stakeholders, and provide recommendations to improve business operations. More importantly my experiences have informed what type of work environment is important to me. While being in a data-centric company, I derive meaning from relationship building and being in an environment with knowledge-hungry learners. Inclusive and diverse work places are of upmost importance to me. Waning away from the software dev side of things and gearing towards my analytical roots—I studied statistics and learned to approach data with a healthy sense of skepticism, challenge different approaches, and analyze analytics problems cogently while applying reasonable assumptions. Data analysis is the perfect blend of the creative and the technical. I envision myself in a business intelligence type role, gathering the right data and forming result sets to analyze, looking for interactions and insights previously unseen, deeply understanding the business and domain specific context, examining inefficiencies & pain points in an organization for which to optimize, and melding both quantitative and qualitative problem-solving approaches to provide product development recommendations and solutions. These are examples of what energizes me. I have exerperience as a team lead and have mentored junior engineer and analytics team members.The following are lessons I've taken with me on my data career journey so far: Ø Approach data and models with skepticism. Metrics are inherently meaningless. Provide the proper context behind them. Ø Our observations of the world are biased because we are human. Ø It's easy to get absorbed into short term gains and lose sight of the big picture. Reflect on that trade-off in decision making. Ø Innovation and failure are two sides of the same coin—fail fast, learn, and embrace it. Ø Transparency and candor are important to an organization’s culture. Ø Ambiguous, challenging problems are conducive to stretching oneself and enhancing one's capabilities. Ø Fundamental attribution error and psychological biases are everywhere. Try to understand diverse perspectives and viewpoints. Ø Continually challenge your own approach to view a result, outcome, or circumstance in a different lens. Ø A positive attitude is contagious. Best treat others kindly : )