Carlos was born and raised in Barcelona. Upon completion of his Master’s in B.Analytics, he moved to The Netherlands to continue his professional career as a Data Analyst at a major international bank. Young Analytics guided him throughout the entire recruitment process, and he became a Technical Business Analyst for the Market and Credit Risk domains. This professional opportunity is closely related to his interests as he enjoys coding during his free time and studying for the CFAÒ® certification. Besides work, Carlos enjoys practicing sports, exploring the country, and visiting his friends and family in London and Amsterdam. In this blog, Carlos shares his experience as a young professional and talks about becoming part of Generation Data.
Hi Carlos! Why did you choose to go to The Netherlands? What was attracting you?
‘I wanted to face new challenges, and moving to a different country certainly is one. The Netherlands has always been a country that I really admired, even though I have only been there twice on a more tourist basis. What I enjoyed the most was the people and their culture. Furthermore, the country is very efficient and well-distributed; everything has been considered when it comes to the way that it’s built, thus making it a very attractive country to live in. I wanted to build a life abroad and asked myself: why not work in the Netherlands? Then I got a job offer to work for an international bank in The Hague. The opportunity was great, so I decided to take it. As time passes, I feel more and more integrated with the culture, taking the bike every day to work and even having lunch at 12!’
How did you experience the road from finishing your master’s in Barcelona, to a job in the Finance and Data Analytics sector in the Netherlands?
‘When I decided I wanted to undertake a new challenge, I got in contact with Young Analytics as their job offerings matched my professional interests. They assessed my interests and skills, based on which a discussion regarding potential matches ensued. They introduced me to my current job position and guided me through the entire application process. The job was an attractive opportunity to me because it combined both, the development side and the financial one. Since I already had a year of experience working as a Data Analyst and the fact that my new role was data-focused, I had a smooth transition, being able to adapt quickly and deliver value soon.’
And what do you like about the financial domain you’re working in?
‘Besides the knowledge and skills acquired from the job, I would say resilience. I’ve learned to adapt quickly to changes, for example, moving to a completely different country. Although I must admit that this example is far from ideal as moving to the Netherlands was quite easy. Not only because everyone is very welcoming and everyone speaks English, but also because of Young Analytics’ help and advice. Going back to the resilience point, being able to deal with change is something I have learned, and I find it to be very valuable. A lot of things may change, but you need to keep going and try to navigate both, the expected and the unexpected. That would be my biggest takeaway.’
What is one of the most valuable things you’ve learned so far?
‘Well, at my company the data volume is increasing very rapidly, so right now we can process 10 million trades an hour. This is going to be much more in the future, so we have to somehow prepare our applications and databases. Right now we are focusing mainly on short term solutions, but in the long term we have to switch to something more innovative. For us the increase of data is a good thing, because we charge by trade of course. But if we can manage to filter the data, this would really help to create an overview. There are also great data visualization tools that can help with it. I think these are the main developments I foresee.’
Do you have some advice for other young professionals who are just starting their careers?
‘To learn from everything that you do. I would say that the first years for a young professional can be challenging, but also interesting. That is because, in my opinion, there is not only one path that is going to define whatever you do or who you become. These years allow you to learn and try. Always remember to improve and learn from all the experiences, even when you think they are not directly related to your goals. It is not a straight line: it will take some tolerance. If you have your goals in mind, you can learn from anything and once you reach them, you will probably realize that what you once thought was a detour, was actually a necessary step.’
