Meet Becky, a Data Apprentice

Shifting gears

“I did a Psychology degree at uni and when I graduated, I thought about going on to be a psychologist, but I knew that doing a masters meant accruing more student debt. I decided to look at psychology undergrad jobs, and all that I saw was available were teaching assistant roles. I ended up doing that for a year, but I didn’t find it as inspiring as I hoped I would. I wanted to do something completely new.”

Data is the future

“I felt like I could be doing something else and using different parts of my brain more, because while the job was obviously challenging, it was challenging in a different way. And I thought about what interested me, and what was a job fit for the future. Obviously, the world we're living in is technology-focused, and the capabilities of data are always growing, so I kept that in mind as I searched for something new.”

A new adventure

“I applied for a few apprenticeships at Lloyds Banking Group. I knew I wasn't interested in the schemes more focused towards marketing, I wanted something numbers driven. So, I applied for the Data Analyst and the Business Analyst apprenticeships — and I was offered both. When I was making my final decision, I spoke to someone that works in the apprenticeship team for advice. She told me that data is a great route to go down and that as a bonus, I’d be a good representative of women in tech. Data qualifications are also a highly sought after skill. My decision was made.”

Great customer journeys

“I'm now on the Data Analyst scheme, working out of the Chief Digital Office. We look at our customers’ online journeys and find opportunities for optimization to make their experience easier. We get right into the details of how our customers bank online — if we want to know how many customers applied for online banking services in March, for example, we could go into the code and extract that data to get a better understanding of what our customers need.”

Using all of your skills

“I often find myself analysing people’s behaviour and motivations because of my psychology background. It helps me to look at customer patterns and gauge what they need based on their behaviour. I can even try and predict their behaviour. Working with data can sometimes sound like we’re distant from the more human side of the bank, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re supporting our customers in a completely different, unique way.”

Unique strengths

“When I first joined, Lloyds Banking Group made me feel really comfortable. During the application I was told, ‘You don't need to have any prior knowledge, we will teach you everything.’ And it’s true. Everyone is so supportive.”