Miranda Howe

"I was surprised by the personality types that I got as the names didn't feel like something I naturally am, but when I read the descriptions it was more obvious. Communicator - I actually teach people on some of the data tools that we use so it makes sense that I came out as good at simplifying complex information. Co-ordinator - I have always been organised and make sure that things are done on time, it helps that I have built up a reputation of if you want something done, Ask Miranda!Quality Controller - as a data analyst you have to be good at looking into the detail and a natural curiosity has only ever helped me when trying to solve a problem. "

"I analyse data using a mixture of coding and visualisation tools. I enjoy the variation as it gives me a chance to be creative but I have also always loved problem solving and I like the sense of satisfaction once you get something to work how you wanted it to! The starting salary for data analysts is about 25k and this rises with experience - there are opportunities to get more or less technical as you progress. "

"I have had a few different data analysis roles since leaving University - initially I worked at the National Crime Agency trying to identify cyber criminals. However I found that to actually be more boring than it sounds and I wanted to be a bit more technical, so I moved into data analysis on the PwC graduate scheme. This gave me a great chance to work in different industries and as a consultant you get the opportunity to learn lots of different skills and tools.The work was hard but enjoyable helping different clients but involved a fair amount of travel and it was difficult to see the impact of your work when you were working on something else 2 weeks later. I was inspired into Data Analysis by Hans Rosling - take a look on YouTube for his video on global health statistics to see how data visualisation can be made really interesting! "

"I enjoy hiking at the weekends and baking, we even have an Office bake-off but I haven't been very successful yet. "

"I spend most of my day at my laptop working on the latest piece of data analysis. This could look to answer a problem like what is the average age of our customers, or how can we visualise how many people are closing their bank account with us and can we work out why? I also spend some of my day in meetings to discuss how the work is going or updating senior people on progress. I work as part of a team of about 5 people who have different skills and can help solve issues or suggest ideas if we get stuck on something. I love that over the last few years all the jobs have relaxed enough to let you wear casual clothes in the office so most days I am wearing jeans and trainers! "

"I studied Computer Science at University and decided I didn't want to become a programmer, but data analysis gives me the ability to be flexible and creative depending on the tasks I'm doing. "