You're a certified public accountant—what motivated you to enroll in the Specialization Diploma in Big Data Analytics?
As an accountant, I worked conducting audits at various companies in different industries. What I really enjoyed about the job was being able to analyze and understand how these different companies operated and what their revenue and expense structures looked like.
After finishing my economics degree, I was getting a little bored with what I’d been doing, and during a conversation with my brother—who was living in France at the time—he mentioned that there was a high demand there for people with a background in economics and engineering. He explained what it entailed, and I was hooked right away.
He was working as a data scientist at Amadeus (a technology company in the tourism sector) and knew the market well. I looked into my local options and enrolled in ORT’s graduate program in Big Data.
Did your career change as a result of completing the graduate program?
Yes, I’m currently working at Evertec, a technology company, as a Data Science Manager. Right now, I’m putting together the team that will tackle the projects our department has planned for next year, while continuing to provide our current services.
What is the role of a Data Science Manager, and what responsibilities do they have within a company?
The role is quite broad. This person is responsible for management (financial resources, human resources, and the infrastructure and technology needed to carry out the project, among other things) and serves as the point of contact with the client. This is important because there is often a significant lack of understanding of the subject, and even misconceptions.
He serves as a bridge between the business side and the technology side, which generally don’t speak the same language, making it very difficult to successfully bring these two worlds together. Thanks to his expertise, he also leads and drives development in the field, whether by adopting new technologies or exploring new programming languages.
"Companies that rely on data for decision-making are the ones that gain a clear competitive advantage and succeed in creating greater value."
Do you feel that having this specialization has opened more doors for you in the job market?
Without a doubt. Six months after starting the graduate program, and thanks to the knowledge I gained during that first semester, I was able to join the newspaper El País as the head of Data Analytics.
There, I had the opportunity to start putting everything I was studying into practice and learn a lot about the day-to-day work of handling and analyzing data to add value within a company.
What do the field of big data and your profession as an accountant have in common, and what new tools did this training provide you with?
I believe that as accountants, we have the advantage of being trained to focus on how a company creates value and how day-to-day decisions directly impact the ultimate goal.
Both the master's program and the postgraduate course provide you with essential tools to continue analyzing and understanding this data flow, and to create firsthand solutions that have a significant impact on the business.
They give you the tools to automate a process, generate data flows to create a dashboard and monitor business KPIs, or manipulate data to predict which of your users are likely to churn or determine the best product to offer your customers.
How do you view the importance of big data within a company in Uruguay?
It is becoming increasingly common for companies to have dedicated data departments, which are typically separate from traditional IT departments. This is driving a significant increase in demand for data scientists. At present, few companies use big data due to the costs associated with processing and storing it, but as costs continue to decline, more and more companies are able to benefit from it.
Companies that rely on data for decision-making today are the ones that gain a clear competitive advantage and generate greater value. This is even more evident in companies that succeed in democratizing data within the organization, where everyone has access to it. This fosters a deeper understanding of the business and opens up new analytical possibilities that impact all areas and are reflected in the bottom line.