What It's Like Being The Brainpower Behind Innovative Studies

ROYAL OAK, MI — In this week's Cool Job Profile, Patch spoke with Daniel Tonkovich, a Senior Data Analyst at NerdWallet. What does a Senior Data Analyst do? Think of the role as part creative/part scientist. Tonkovich thinks about what information would be interesting to him - then actually does background research on said interesting subject, conducts a study, and analyzes the results, which NerdWallet distributes across America.

Tonkovich talked to Patch about the ins and outs of his fascinating role:

Patch: How did you become a Senior Data Analyst?

Daniel Tonkovich (DT): I kind of fell into the role. I worked in finance and heard about NerdWallet through friends. I did a little bit of research and found this job, which is such an interesting role, and decided to pursue it.

Patch: You study so many fascinating things, ranging from the best place to buy a first home in America to the best metro areas for young entrepreneurs. What's the first step in your studies?

DT: NerdWallet is all about putting the consumer first. Our company is completely focused on helping people make personal decisions. That's where we start. I think about it personally. "What would be interesting or helpful for the consumer to learn? If I were buying a home, what's interesting that I would like to know?" That's where I begin. I focus on mortgages and home ownership. I read a ton of news on the subject and see what's topical and what isn't being covered or what's fun to read.

Patch: Where do you begin your research?

DT: The wealth of government data is amazing. There's so much data out there if you look. The Census is a great source for all kinds of data as is the American Housing Survey Data. I'm a pretty big advocate of government data. The other thing we'll do is when we can't find readily available data we'll try to partner with a company that can give us a better data perspective.

Patch: What has been a cool byproduct of being a Senior Data Analyst?

DT: I already had a background on one side of finance - the corporate side - but this role is personal finance and it's helpful to have that perspective and see both sides of the coin.

Patch: What's your favorite part of your job?

DT: One of my favorite things is we build a model and at the end of the day I don't know what the results will be until I hit 'enter' on the keyboard and see what data comes out. A perfect example is a first-time home buyers' story I just did. Maybe towns or cities I'd never even think of or heard of would be spit out by the computer. I love the excitement and anticipation of learning the data.

Patch: What's your advice to people interested in getting into the Senior Data Analyst field?

DT: There are a few things I'd emphasize. If you're still in school, take math classes. I didn't like math classes anymore than anyone else but they ended up being really helpful in this role.

Secondly, there are a ton of free resources online - whether it's learning how to code or do Excel or even the tools NerdWallet provides with calculating your mortgage payment. So take advantage of the tools available to you online and learn from them.

The third thing is to read the news. Keep up what's happening in the world. Having a broad perspective is important - no matter what job you're in - but especially in a job like a data analyst. I usually spend about an hour and a half every morning reading headlines and anything that's very important in the news and digging down on things I think are really interesting and want to learn more about.

I try to refresh in the afternoon and I get a ton of push notifications on my phone that keep me up to date.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Tonkovich