Jess Ramos ’19 is moving up fast in her career — thanks to her passion for data, pivotal training at Berry and a Master of Science in business analytics from the University of Georgia. She just joined Freddie Mac as a senior risk analyst on the credit innovation and analytics team, where her know-how helps people purchase homes.
“I conduct research and analyze data to support borrower assessment rules and to automate the manual process of assessing a borrower’s assets and income,” she explains. “Data and algorithms play a big role in Freddie Mac’s products. … It is super cool to see how the power of data can affect people and make a big impact in their lives!"
Beyond her day job, Ramos has been growing followers (10,000+) on LinkedIn, where she has developed a community for women in analytics and tech while networking with mentors and friends in similar career phases.
Q. Why is data science critical to running an organization?
A. Data science and analytics are important for any business to gain insights into revenue, customers, operations and more. Without analytics, a company truly has no idea what is going on and where to go next. Data scientists are able to take the insights a step further and use statistical modeling to determine statistically significant relationships between variables and drive business decisions. As you can see, both of these domains (analytics and data science) are vitally important to have visibility into a company, its success and its future!
Q. What’s the benefit of majoring in data science?
A.I believe this major will allow students to go straight into a data science or analytics role without having to go to grad school or take extra courses/certificates to obtain the adequate skills. The job market is hot right now, but employers are looking for employees who know SQL, a BI visualization tool and business acumen very well. … This degree will provide a straight career path into the field and allow students to gain the necessary skills and experience to stand out.
Q. How were you mentored in the department of mathematics and computer science?
A. Nadeem Hamid [Department Chair] always gets great reviews from students, and I see why! I saved my computer science class for my last semester at Berry because I was dreading it. I didn’t think I was a “techy” person enough to code. It was one of the best classes I took at Berry. Dr. Hamid is an amazing professor who is so kind and patient with students. I proudly got an A and found my love for coding.
Q. Any advice for students wanting to pursue a career in STEM?
A. Tech and data are great fields to go into if you like to constantly solve problems and work out your brain! For women in STEM (specifically math and data where my experience is): Be confident in yourself because you deserve a seat just as much as anyone else. You will be hit with extra challenges and gender bias, but you will eventually learn so much resilience and gain confidence through it. Find a mentor and a group of other supportive women in the field to lean on. It isn’t always easy, but it helps to see others in your shoes moving forward as well.
