And that’s a wrap! With the end of August comes one final co-op update for my last month. What final projects did I work on? And what’s next for me?
August went by quickly, but I got the chance to take on one final project. With a quick turn-around time, this project helped me grow new skills and positioned me as the Lead Business Analyst. I also took some time to think about how this co-op has shaped my career trajectory, and where I see myself going next.
Final Project
As I continued my work on my other projects, another one took most of my attention this past month. I mentioned in my last update that I was assigned the role of Lead Business Analyst on an internal app. What I didn’t mention was that this app needed to be production ready basically by the time my co-op term finished.
This very quick turn-around time (about 5 weeks) placed a new type of pressure on the project, and helped me grow my critical decision making skills. I needed to make quick decisions about functionality, data storage, usability, and design at various stages of the project, while considering the time constraints, the capability of our developers, and needs of our end users.
In this case, those end users would be firm partners all across Canada. Targeting this audience required me to take a step back and consider the diversity of skills and background of our users. On one end, you might have partners who bring a high level of tech-savvy and on the other end, partners who, while talented in their own areas, might not have the capacity to fiddle with a complex application. I had to balance creating a fully-featured and innovative app with both the time constraint and diverse user base. In the end, these limitations forced me to prioritize features, which allowed us to be proud of the app we delivered on-time.
What’s Next?
“What’s next?” It’s a question I’ve been asked and have been asking myself a lot recently!
This co-op gave me a great glimpse into the world of Technology Consulting. I got to see a lot of the pros of consulting and got to chat with dozens of people about why they chose this field. In hearing from them, I knew I was in the right spot.
While I enjoyed my work as a Business/QA Analyst, I mostly got to work on technology implementation projects. I felt I was missing some of the higher level strategy work I think I’d enjoy. Having also spoken to others in Tech Strategy and Management Consulting, I’d definitely like to explore this field, and take a look at larger firms where my work can be more impactful for larger clients.
It goes without saying that the job market is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and searching for positions will be an even more competitive and unique process than before. But with the skills I’ve developed this past four months, as well as from many other opportunities, I have no doubt I’ll be an equally competitive candidate, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
With that said, if you’re reading this and know of any student opportunities in Consulting for Winter 2021, I encourage you to send me a message!