“With analytics you can better your business or projects’ performance.”
Manya Jain had worked as a financial data analyst with a few projects in process optimization for six years before moving from India to California with her husband and six-months-old daughter.
Nine months later, she had completed both Program and Project Management and Database and Data Analytics certificate programs. She gained internship experience at a local startup and accepted a job as a financial planning analyst at the University of Washington. Jain credits her experience at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension as a great starting point for launching her career in the U.S.
“The courses complemented each other and helped me when I got an internship,” she says.
Building on experience
Both project management and database and data analytics programs and her internship tied in with work experience in India where she worked in financial data analysis. She had done a lot of complex modeling reporting acting as decision support to senior management and business using various tools and databases.
“I was very happy with the curriculum and with how flexible the program is,” Jain says. “It’s a great fit for women like me who have young children at home and want to develop job skills at their own pace. Everything worked in the direction I wanted.”
Analytics, she said, helps get a better understanding of a business or project performance.
“You can build interactive dashboards and experiment with different platforms,” she says. “Even though I had the background in analysis, this program helped me pick up where I left off. I was also able to apply these skills to my internship at the startup, where I was able to practice what I was learning and see how it all worked.”
Putting new skills into to work
She interned at a local startup, where she worked with Tableau and other data analytics platforms. Both her project management and data analytics courses were relevant. Professors shared firsthand their experiences in the field. A few of them provided LinkedIn recommendations.
“One day I’d be studying for class and the next day we are discussing the same topics at our organization,” she says. “I was later offered a job there, but because our family is relocating to Seattle, I wasn’t able to accept it.”
International services
At the Silicon Valley Extension campus, Jain joined students from all over the world. She benefitted from the guidance of an experienced staff of advisors.
“It was amazing how the international program staff were so ready to help international students,” she says. “There are a lot of things to keep in mind about student’s immigration, such as how we can maintain our status, when is OPT applicable. I felt good going to a school where they listen to your situation and help you solve the problems. The entire team was amazing in helping me navigate the required paperwork.”