Data Analyst Review

On a day to day basis I am involved in preparing, cleaning, processing and merging structured/unstructured data. I am driving behavioural/operational and system changes to improve data quality. On top of that I am responsible for maintenance of departmental dashboards and drawing insights from them which are further used during weekly and monthly meetings. From time to time I do ad hoc tasks that may not be related to my job description but provide me with opportunity to learn about different parts of company.

I have learned a lot of new skills starting with Photoshop and iMac OS and finishing on Tableau and Google Analytics. I am attending weekly Tableau workshops which are run by internal Analytics Community and Python workshops. FCA is an organisation that will provide you with many resources that will allow you to learn new skills and expand on- the existing ones. I am constantly challenged in my role and the rate at which I pick up new skills is fast paced but I am receiving a lot of support and mentoring from my manager and colleagues.

My team and manager are great. FCA has a very welcoming environment, people are open, curious and friendly and always willing to help or answer questions. I feel like I am supported in my role and get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment out of it. Work is varied and interesting and I am doing a lot of things I have not done before. There are opportunities for training and professional development. The experience with my training provider is horrible. Prepare for a parade of technical issues, Uni/Library website not working at random times, IT support doesn't exist so good luck solving anything. Sometimes you won't be getting your workshop invites so you won't be able to join classes. The programme structure is a disaster. If you expect to be intellectually stimulated and learn new things you would be better off buying some academic books and reading them in your own time. The "lectures" consists of tutors reading from powerpoint presentations, there is no incentive to actually learn anything, over and over again they will remind you how to write your assignment and what words to use to pass it and that is pretty much it. They are using outdated resources, my textbook is about Business in IT sector and its 20 years old (go figure), using old research and study cases. Tutors are clueless, it's a waste of time to attend office hours as they will not provide you with any valuable insights or direction. On the admin side - nobody answers emails (aside from my Skills Coach, which is a nice change) so once again if you got any issues at all you will be left to deal with this on your own.

Programme is poorly structured. The assumption is that you are given 20% of your working hours towards studying. In reality this is not enough and this is never communicated at any point during the recruitment process. So if you think you will spend one working day per week on workshop and assignment prep then you will be severely disappointed. Reading itself takes majority of your off the job hours, you will be spending a lot of your personal, unpaid time on learning because whoever came up with programme structure was not able to accurately forecast how long it actually takes to develop your assignment or study. Programme is not based on traditional academic year, instead it runs in 3 month periods. You are not given any sort of academic calendar or when your assignments are due so it is very hard to plan any annual leave or have any commitments outside of work.

FCA will honour your hours and I had no issues with having protected study time. I am out of office on that day and I am not expected to log in to answer any emails or attend meetings so I can fully focus on my workshop/assignment prep. My manager is actively involved in my development and we have regular meetings where we discuss my progress and objectives and if need any additional support. If you end up with a good manager you will feel fully supported in your apprenticeship, which is great because it will allow you to overcome obstacles you will get with your apprenticeship provider.

None. They will run various workshops on academic referencing or how to structure your assignments but the quality will be appalling, just like everything else. QA is not a reputable provider and it is reflected in the overall lack of quality of their teaching and administrative services. Often you and your manager will be left confused as to what is expected of you and what are you supposed to be doing. You will be given untrue and/or inaccurate information.

It doesn't. Modules that I've attended so far had nothing to do with what I actually do at work. As a Data Analyst my primary role is to ANALYSE things. So far I have been taught about different business delivery models, budgets, managing teams and customers - I don't do any of these things now and I doubt I will in the future. These topics would be more suited for DevOps qualification rather than Data Analytics. I have learned more through workplace learning programmes and doing courses via platforms they pay for rather than attending University.

Whatever club/society/support group you can think of - FCA has it. If you enjoy being social with your co-workers you can buy a ticket for an evening Thames cruise or go skiing in Europe - FCA organises a lot of these things which gives people opportunity to come together and have a good time. There is a ton of networking events, departmental days, team away days - it is a great incentive, especially for new joiners, that makes you feel like you are a part of FCA.

Yes

I would definitely recommend FCA but not the apprenticeship provider (QA) or the apprenticeship programme itself. FCA is a great place to work and an excellent start of your career. You will feel heard and valued and taken care of. You will get opportunities to do various trainings which will let you grow and develop professionally. They have hybrid working policy so if you enjoy working from home you will have the opportunity to do so for half of your working days. The office is modern, well equipped and well connected for those who commute via public transport. Depending on which team you work for you may have flexible dress code so you won't have to wear a suit if you don't want to. These are small perks but they make a difference on a day to day basis. FCA is definitely a place where you can establish yourself and make a career.

The requirement process is very competitive so make sure you read through their website and pay particular attention to their mission and values, which are very important for them as is is a public regulatory body. During the job interview remember to use STAR when talking about your qualifications and abilities. They want you as much as you want them so keep that in mind. Even if you feel like you have very little experience do not be discouraged - everyone starts somewhere. They will see a potential in you, otherwise they wouldn't invite you for an interview. If you do get a job read about imposter syndrome and don't let it get to you. Oh, and don't be too nervous, it is a serious organisation but most of the time people who work there are very approachable and easy going so try to be yourself and let your quirkiness shine!