“What is the day-to-day really, truly like in marketing analytics?”. I’m over halfway through my summer internship as a marketing automation and analytics intern at a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I’ve had a lot of my fellow peers ask me what it’s really like because many of them had their internships cancelled or moved to an online format.
The skills I’ve acquired during this internship have been amazing! I did a lot of research beforehand however, and honestly didn’t find that much information on what it’s like to really be in marketing analytics during the day-to-day operations. I’ve enjoyed talking about my experience with my peers, however, I wanted to put my experience on a platform where more people who are curious about what it is like can see for themselves, and show what it is like from the very beginning to the very end of my day. So, let’s get ready to wake up!
Disclaimer: I am not a full time marketing analytics professional, I am simply relaying my observations of what I did and saw. This is not meant to teach you all the skills and tools used in marketing analytics, as I am still learning. For this information, please check out Towards Data Science. If you are interested in what it’s like to be in a marketing analytics intern or entry-level role, keep reading!
6:15 AM: Wake Up and Get Ready
I typically will wake up around 6:15 AM every morning before the workday. This gives me about an hour to read Medium articles from other amazing writers, and gives me some things to learn in small, manageable chunks! Other than the basic morning routine that we all do, I also make a cup of coffee, because this is a role that requires you to think critically most of the day, and I promise you will get tired at some point! After some coffee, I get changed, pack my bag, and head to work!
7:45 AM: Through the Doors and Early Morning Activities
I walk through the doors, find my way to my desk, and get ready for the work day! Here are a couple things that I do at the very beginning of the day:
- Check emails from different stakeholders and team members
- Check my calendar for the day to look out for upcoming meetings and calls
- Check survey results for my team research project
- Spend some time learning from the tenure marketing analyst
In the midst of COVID-19, email and video calls are now the primary method of communication, even while in the office. We are required to wear masks and social distance, but we also try our best to stick to email and video calls if at all possible. During the summer, interns are given two major projects for the whole summer, one in teams where you present a solution to a problem that the executive team gives you, and one where you do a project on your own and present it to your department, which in my case is marketing. I also always try to spend some time with the marketing analyst, and watch him work through a problem and how he approaches it.
9:00 AM: Python and Analytics Practice
After I’m finished getting ready for the day, I will typically spend some time practicing my Python and analytical skills by applying them to a dataset that the marketing analyst gives me. This is not meant for a client or stakeholder, but is rather a way to solidify what I’ve learned from the marketing analyst that morning. I might whip up a linear regression model using sklearn, try to make my data cleaning more efficient with Pandas, or create quick visualizations with matplotlib. What I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t really matter how you get the job done. It is perfectly acceptable to have Stack Overflow opened on my left screen and a Jupyter Notebook on my right. I have found that analysts are always working on so many different projects, that knowing how to be efficient in your code is the skill to refine as you move through your internship or entry-level position.
10:00 AM: Intern Event
Normally around the middle of the morning, all of the interns will meet via a Zoom call, or a very large conference room that allows for social distancing, and will listen to different speakers from within the company. These speakers are typically Vice Presidents or Senior Vice Presidents, and will talk about their experiences, offer their advice, and allow time for questions. For an entry-level position, the next part of the day would normally start around this time!
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