From Past to Present

Luong, Business Intelligence Analyst Intern, San Francisco, CA

Hi! How can I start this… hmm… I’ve never been good at writing but sharing a great experience at CBS Interactive is not a hard job I guess.

So let me introduce a bit about myself. My name is Luong. I am Vietnamese, and just got to California last September. I did my Bachelor degree in the U.K and now doing Master in Statistics in Hayward. What a change!

(York, U.K and San Francisco, CA – my past and present)

As a newbie to the States, I didn’t know much about CBS at first, other than CBS News Channel 5 (sorry). But when I was in the U.K, I used CNET for downloads and reviews, so I was so surprised when knowing I would be working for CBS Interactive and CNET.

Unlike most of you guys, I already worked for an insurance company in the U.K for a year so it’s not my first job. But this is far better than my first job. There was no concept such ‘happy hours’, ‘interns/new graduates lunch’, ‘executive meetings’. I felt like we were pampered (in a good way). Those events were definitely the excellent chances to meet other interns and learn experiences from successful people. The working environment here is very friendly and enjoyable. Wearing jeans to work everyday? You gotta love that!

Ok, so that is a brief impression of working for CBS Interactive. And for those who love data and statistics, you might want to know about what I do here as a Business Intelligence Analyst.

Has anyone wondered why what you’ve learn at school is so different from what you have to deal with at work? Yes, that is my case because the real data is nothing like ‘normal’ or what work in ‘theory’ does not work in real situation. But it definitely makes me understand more and in a deeper level of what I’ve studied.

I tested the performance of online marketing campaign, or compared how the new designs would affect users’ behavior on the site. Do users click more, read more? Also, I did some modeling for the page views data and researches on statistical and practical significance.  Now with the growth of social media, there will be many challenging and interesting projects to understand more about the users of our sites. So working in a dynamic and constantly changing environment, I don’t have to worry about being bored of working the same stuff everyday.

In fact, working here makes me think of changing my career path from actuary (as I always thought I wanted to be one) to analyst. An awesome work place can really bring the best out of you.

Thinking of joining CBS Interactive? Then be ready for all the cool and fun things!