Student Perspectives: New York, Tech and Real-Estate: Lessons from a Data Analyst Intern at a Tech Real Estate Start-up Company

MS Statistics ‘23 student, Thu Vu, shared with the GCMC how her internship at a NYC real estate tech start-up company led to a full-time position 

 

After a professional milestone of finishing a transformative internship and moving on to enter a full-time position at a NYC real estate tech start-up, I find the insights I’ve learned to be of use to fellow data enthusiasts. Let’s dive into the lessons learned and strategies uncovered during this dynamic transition into the world of data science and real estate. 

 

1. Most memorable challenge: Geospatial Data 

Exploring geospatial data for NYC buildings opened a gateway to a trove of contextual insights. Mapping the city's diverse structures allowed me to visualize patterns, clusters, and relationships that are pivotal in the real estate sector. From identifying prime locations for property development to understanding the intricate branches of residential type distribution across the five boroughs, geospatial data became a powerful lens through which I could interpret and communicate complex real estate dynamics. 

 

This also opened the gates for using modules such as Haversine distance, Levenshtein fuzzy address matching, and SQL coordinates filtering within certain geographical boundaries, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and continuous improvement in the dynamic field of data analysis in the early stages of my career. 

 

2. Networking in real-estate 

Making professional connections in a technical position is not easy, especially with a company that is new and is building its name in the industry. However, when I attended online industry-specific conferences, I discovered the potency of forging connections within this niche. People were eager to talk about new projects, emerging technologies and industry gossip! 

 

3. Making an impact 

Contributing as a Data Analyst extended beyond the numerical realm. From optimizing and automating data workflows to hands-on data migration and client on-boarding, every effort aimed at making a tangible impact on the company’s main goals in keeping the customers happy and improving the product. Witnessing the ripple effect of my analyses on real estate trends reaffirmed that data analysis is not just about programming and numbers; it's about minute details that can trigger an attractive result. My most notable contribution would be automizing sales verification from official documents of property sales on NYC state portal. It was a task that no one anticipated to be so multi-faceted and the process that I came up with is easily replicable for our upcoming projects. 

 

4. Future learning opportunities 

As my internship concludes and moving forward to a full-time position as a Data Analyst, I plan to embark on learning more about utilizing natural language processing and machine learning to dive further into the possibilities of data in the real-estate industry. The experience has sparked a curiosity for real estate analytics and propelled me toward envisioning a future where I engage with a sharper analytical compass. The next chapter involves diving deeper into NLP, AI applications in image processing in real estate, and mastering tools that amplify the impact of data insights. 

 

5. Navigating the Internship hunt 

For aspiring Data Analysts navigating the maze of internship searches, my advice is to tailor your skill set to the desired industry niche. Showcase not only your technical proficiency but your understanding of how data can drive insights in this specific industry. It is also helpful to understand the progression of technology in each sector, as data is moving constantly and the way we structure and migrate from system to system is continuously being improved; we need to stay ahead of the current trends and movements within the industry to keep up with the demands. Most importantly, don’t forget to let your personality shine through interviews. It is important that you can connect and communicate naturally with the team that you aspire to be a part of. 

 

In conclusion, an internship as a Data Analyst in a tech real estate company is more than just a data exercise—it's an exploration of industry-specific systems, technology, progression case studies and a launchpad for future endeavors. I’m excited to embark on the journey of becoming an official member of the company and to bring more valuable data application visions to life. 

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