It was often said at Costco that a manager’s job was ninety percent teaching. I spent much of my time working with new employees and company veterans, sharing practical skills and business knowledge, and offering guidance to those who were eager to advance. Many of those employees are in management positions today.

On the technical side, I worked with sales and payroll data, gaining insights into how different lines on the financial statement impact each other, how to identify sales trends, and how to spot merchandising opportunities before they arrive. My aptitude for learning new systems led to me being tapped to help implement several major infrastructure upgrades, including a new payroll and scheduling system, and a new cash management system.

But life isn’t all about work, and some things are more important. Sickness in the family required me to take a step back from my career so I could take care of the person who mattered most to me. This was a difficult time in my life, and as is so often the case, it turned out to be a catalyst for change. While I had achieved great things working with data at the store level, it gave me just a taste of a new kind of satisfaction that comes with diving head-first into a data problem and not coming up for air until you’ve dissected every aspect of it.

Database technology had always fascinated me, and in the clarity that followed my departure from Costco, I knew what was next for me: I was going to start a new journey in data, and apply everything I learned in my management career to advance in my chosen field. I learned SQLite and MySQL from online courses before committing to the Calbright College Data Analysis program. Completing that program led to an opportunity to serve my fellow students as a peer tutor, a function I fulfilled with distinction for six months. I also found my first Data Analysis role: analyzing user behavior as project team lead for FreeFuse. As I continue my education, my primary focus is to find a position as an analyst and once again achieve professional excellence.