Before joining Yellow Canary as a Data Analyst in July 2021, Sam had a varied career spanning academia and corporate. Based in Regional NSW, when he’s not in the home office you will find him at the beach, or the local cafe - at the beach. Read on to hear more about what excites Sam about coming to work at YC every day.
1. What does a day-in-the-life for you look like?
Like most people with the title Data Analyst, a lot of my time is actually spent engineering data. In this case, it is engineering client data so that our proprietary system can run the analysis. All tidy data is the same, all messy data is messy in its own way, and that 100% holds true in a YC context. This requires a lot of my time to be spent programming, as well as liaising with our Customer Success team and our clients to make sure any data gaps and queries are resolved. I also put together end user reports and develop new analytics products.
2. What is your background before coming to YC?
Pretty varied. I actually began my career in academia. Unfortunately the university sector has poor employment security/outcomes, so I switched to corporate and taught myself programming. Its easy to laugh at the “learn2code” mantra, but it’s a very rewarding skillset.
3. How would you describe YC’s culture and remote-working environment?
At YC, remote-first is an effectiveness multiplier, while for a lot of businesses it is seen as a hurdle that needs to be managed. To achieve this, the fundamental starting value of YC is trust. YC hires talented people and then assumes trust from the offset.
There is no micro-management to speak of and precious little red tape. If you are a self-starter, and highly motivated, the culture is liberating. Additionally, unlike a lot of corporate cultures, YC is genuinely results driven, and office politics are virtually non-existent.
4. What excites you about working at YC?
Continual growth, both collectively and individually. Most days there is a new problem to solve - it’s just about finding the most effective solution and then creating it. Being immersed into the legislative landscape of Industrial Relations has been fascinating - particularly as someone without a legal background. Seeing our products and team evolve is great to watch, and knowing that your work genuinely contributes to a fairer employment landscape in Australia certainly aligns with my values.
5. Where can we find you outside of work?
With my young family mostly. We spend an inordinate amount of time at the beach, and at any pub, club, or café that has a playground. While it is a cliché, I actually spend a lot of my free time doing my literal day job, just on different datasets and topics. Though I am keen to get back into reading.
6. What are you looking forward to in the next few months?
Expanding our cloud architecture and analytics products further, and international expansion. Whilst the YC core product is tested and sound, I am excited to see how our new products land in the market.
