From data science to a big tech career, meet finance analyst Caitlin Currey

“The only thing I knew how to do before the MDSI was write an excel formula,” says Caitlin, who graduated earlier this year.

“It just goes to show that anyone can study data science. There was a subject called Data Science Practice that taught me how to write SQL, Python and R in one semester. Learning those skills changed the way that I work.” 

Exploring new professional horizons 

Caitlin arrived at the MDSI after working as a chartered account for three years. While she loved what she did, she’d found herself increasingly fascinated by the big datasets that underpinned everything in her work. Learning to harness that data seemed like an obvious way to grow in her career — and UTS, where she’d previously completed her undergraduate studies, seemed like the obvious place to do it.

The university’s commitment to flexible learning meant that Caitlin could continue working full-time while she studied, and its central location and technology-embedded, industry-informed course content made it both accessible and desirable as a place to pursue postgraduate study.

What was less obvious, however, was the speed at which the MDSI would start opening doors to new career opportunities. In her first year of study, as Caitlin was tackling the fundamentals of machine learning and statistical thinking, she applied for a job in the accounting team at food delivery service Menulog. It turned out the company’s Analytics Lead, William Kent, was also doing the MDSI; during Caitlin’s interview, “we nerded out about data and he told the accounting team that if they didn’t hire me, he’d hire me instead,” she says.

Two years later, she landed a role with tech powerhouse Canva — the result, she says, of her insatiable appetite for new knowledge, her passion for tech and the skills she was building at UTS. It was at Canva that she really saw her degree learning come to life at a scale she’d never experienced before. 

“On a day-to-day basis, I was in data warehouses, constantly pulling data and running reporting. I was also a key stakeholder in a big finance data infrastructure project, working as a domain expert from the accounting side and contributing massively to the actual build and testing of the data because I had those skills” says Caitlin.  

Walking the talk on all things tech 

Having graduated from UTS last year, Caitlin recently accepted a position as a finance analyst at health technology company Heidi Health. Heidi offers AI scribing for the medical profession, making the company a natural next step in Caitlin’s tech-focused career.
 
While she still considers herself an accountant — “I’m still in finance; I still solve finance problems” — she says the MDSI skillset is preparing her to excel in her new role in lots of different ways. For one, she’s more autonomous: rather than having to wait for another team to provide her with the data she needs to do her job, she can work within the internal data environment to run reports herself. 
 
“For accountants, it’s super valuable because you’re learning how to navigate massive data sets and use SQL to run your own reporting. I use SQL every day at work, and it means I don’t have to wait in a data queue for somebody to get them to me, so I’m infinitely more productive,” she says. 
 
She’s also well-versed in the language of the engineers she works with and the processes involved in developing and testing new products — skills that will enable her to engage across the organisation and help shape the company’s future. 
 
“I’m not an expert, but I’m dangerous enough in the room to know what people are saying and to know I can hold my own,” she says.