| Personal details |
|---|
| Degree: | MSc Sustainable Development |
|
| School(s): | School of Geography and Sustainable Development |
| Year of Graduation: | Nov-2016 |
| LinkedIn: | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelberryman/ |
| National of: | United States of America |
| Employment details |
|---|
| Organisation: | Tempus Energy |
| Job title: | Manager - Analytics & Customer Performance |
| Occupational Sector: | Research Analysis |
| What has been your route to getting your current position? |
|---|
| After graduating, I worked as a Senior Analyst at an energy consulting firm in New York. I then received a scholarship to complete a Data Science bootcamp in Berlin, Germany. From there I was hired by Tempus Energy as a Data Scientist, working on energy demand flexibility technology for reducing cost and carbon emissions. After 10 months I was promoted to my current role as Manager of Analytics and Customer Performance. |
| What does your job involve ? |
|---|
| I liaise between our Data Science and Technology teams and our flexible energy customers to improve our product and streamline reporting on cost and carbon savings. |
| What are the best bits of your job ? |
|---|
| I very much enjoy explaining the technical intricacies of our flexibility product in a way that anyone can understand. I like that I am able to continue to use my Data Science experience and skills and work closely with the technology team. I am also very lucky to work for such a mission-driven company committed to curbing climate change through innovation. |
| Why were you successful? |
|---|
| I was not afraid to take a (calculated) risk to quit my job to accept the scholarship to study Data Science in Berlin. I knew that having more technical skills would only help my future career in this age where every company is a technology company, and when the opportunity arose I took the plunge. Much more importantly, I was very particular in choosing to work for a company that fits my values and where I work towards the mission of stopping climate change every day. To me, that is what success looks like - working towards a goal larger than a pay check or job title alongside colleagues with similar goals. |
| What skills/ knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
|---|
| The ability to think critically and take an interdisciplinary approach to solving complex problems are the main skills on which my SD degree focused. I use these skills every day working for an innovative start-up disrupting the energy industry. Also, studying alongside an extremely diverse international cohort prepared me to work in an international environment today. |
| What advice would you give to students wishing to follow the same path? |
|---|
| I would advise current students to get as many technical skills as possible, particularly in regards to coding and quantitative analysis. I would also say to stay committed to finding work that you're passionate about; you will be so much happier and feel successful that way. |
