Week 1 of Work

Week one of work?  Check. 

Stressful.  Exciting.  New.  Interesting.  Boring (at times).  Entertaining.  Nerve-racking.  Overwhelming.  Amazing.

 

First day!  All ready to go!  Crazy cousin Cortez in the background.

I could go on listing adjectives that describe how my first week of work went.  However, I have better things to do with my life and so do you.  Let me just start by saying that, overall, work thus far has been great!

View from our office on 3rd Ave and 49th.  We're way up high on the 33rd floor.

Another shot of Manhattan from our floor.

Here’s the rundown:

Fellow Employees:  I work with six other analysts directly.  They are all roughly my age with two of them being recent graduates (one from MSU).  The other four are younger than 30 years of age.  They are very friendly, out-going, inclusive and willing to help (which I need a lot of right now).  What makes me feel a little weird is that they graduated from places like Harvard, Cornell, NYU and Columbia while I graduated from Concordia.  Is Concordia the next Ivy League caliber school? Haha.

This is were we can chill if need be.  Nice and relaxing couches with a good view of the city.

My bosses:  My bosses are two project managers, to whom I report depending on which project I am working, and one vice president, to whom everyone on our team reports.  The PMs and VP are really great people who are extremely knowledgeable and dedicated not only to their work but also their employees. 

Stephanie, one of the PMs, flew in from San Diego to help with my training.  She basically led me through all the formal training I received.  However, since the company this past week was racing to meet two deadlines (one for Toyota and the other for Pfizer), I had to get my hands dirty quickly, diving into ‘real’ work almost after the first day. 

This is our conference room.

The work:  The things I have done this past week, while small, have been real work for the company.  Of course everything I do is under supervision and checked thoroughly after I complete it, but I do feel as though I have been able to contribute to the company and team right away.

One of the hallways with the larger offices on the right.  I'm around the corner on the left with all the other analysts in the middle.  No fancy offices for us.

For those of you who do not know what I do as an analyst, here’s the skinny.  Basically, our company is hired by other companies to produce reports for them.  Whether it’s ESPN, Toyota, Campbell’s, Hertz, Panera Bread, Verizon, Sonic or Procter and Gamble (or one of the many other companies we have and still work for), we devise strategic questionnaires and surveys to help answer their hardest and deepest questions.  Our company also does work for politicians, although I am not involved on this side of the business.  Most notably, in 2008, our company was the leading pollster for Barack Obama and other leading democratic politicians. 

My view of my desk.  I get two screens because I'm special.

Moving on and getting back to what I do.  As an analyst in collaboration with my team, we are responsible for devising the proposal of the project for the company.  We write, format, and prepare the questionnaires, surveys and/or focus group studies.  We program and check the surveys, etc.  We add weights to our data and create banners to better read/analyze the data.  And finally, after all the preparation, analysis and recording have been done, we produce a deck (PowerPoint) or memo and present it to the client.  As an analyst, I will be helping with all of these aspects.

The commute:  Where to start… Put bluntly, the commute blows.  The bus ride in the morning starts at 7am and lasts until roughly 8:30am.  From there, I take a subway ride and then a short walk.  I reach the office around 9am.  After working until 7 or 8pm, I catch the bus (hopefully I time it correctly or I have to wait another hour for the next one to get home).  The bus ride home takes about another 1-1½ hours.  However, I have saved lots of money by not paying rent this month.  But trust me when I say, I am ready for the bus to die a hundred deaths.  I am looking forward to my own apartment in the city with a much shorter commute.

A nice view of the subway.  Just waiting for my train to arrive to take me to the bus station.

The home life:  Living with uncle Fred, aunt Marina and cousins Cortez and Alonza has been one of the best things that has happened to me with this whole NY thing.  Yes, I want to get into my new apartment (which will actually happen next weekend), but I also love living here with them.  It has been great to get to know them better, forming deeper relationships, inside jokes, stories together, etc.  Beside the commute in to NY, I would seriously consider just being their permanent son.  Hehe.  They are wonderful people and give so freely of their space, time and energy.  The Lord has blessed me with them in my life.  Just recently Cortez, Fred and I went for a hike in a nearby park.  Sadly we didn’t see any bears but I am still determined to see one before I leave for NY.

Well that’s my week in a nut shell.  Tune back in next week to see pictures of my apartment and a recap of week two!  Check out some of the hiking pictures below!

We could see Manhattan from the mountain top!

Cortez overlooking the lake alongside the trail.

This is called tripod rock.  I don't know how it doesn't fall over.

Cortez was prepared for rain.

The three amigos!

I'm pretty sure Fred got a hernia from holding the rock up from falling.