What’s your job about?

I work in the Brisbane Data Analytics team. My team sits inside the McGrathNicol forensic practice, which grants me exposure to lots of exciting jobs including investigations, disputes, fraud detection, cyber security and wage remediation.

I am currently working on a large wage remediation project. As part of this I am responsible for inspecting data quality, modelling, testing and documenting results for our client’s review. Every project is a little different and requires me to think in different ways.

The best analogy I’ve heard for working on a data project, is that we start with a big box of jumbled Lego. We then need to decipher which pieces we have, which key pieces we are missing, and how we can use the pieces to build our masterpiece. This process encourages us to think both critically and creatively.

How did you get to where you are now?

I studied a Bachelor of Maths and Commerce with majors in Data Analytics and Operations Research and Finance. I joined McGrathNicol as a Summer Vacationer and came back the following year for the Graduate Program.

During university I wasn’t sure what a career in data looked like. In my last year I completed a few different vacationer programs to understand which field would be the best fit for me. Working in data analytics, I enjoyed learning new tools and having the creative licence to approach problems from different angles. 

What attracted you to McGrathNicol?

I first heard about the firm on GradConnection and decided to apply. Doing a dual degree, I wasn’t sure what team I fit into best, so I applied for Restructuring. I arrived at the interview and had some fantastic conversations with the team. So much so I felt a little disheartened, the culture was obviously great, but I realised how much I wanted to give data a shot. Luckily for me I got a call the next day asking if I wanted to join the Data Analytics team, and the rest is history!

The Graduate Program guides you through the first 12 months at the firm. We had in-person and online training sessions. For the in-person sessions, our national cohort met in Sydney. This helped me build my network and settle any nerves I had about starting a new job.

In my day-to-day role, I found everyone made a real effort to create opportunities for me, and I got fantastic exposure to senior staff and lots of different projects.