KAROLINA WOJTASIAK

I started my professional career after the second year of studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics as an intern at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. I come from the Copper Belt, so choosing KGHM for summer internship was quite natural for me. When working with people from the KGHM Headquarters, I noticed a certain regularity, namely that people with economic, financial, etc. education face operational and technological issues. In turn, people responsible for production in mines and smelters do not have solid foundations in the field of enterprise management. Hence my idea of avoiding these inaccuracies in industry knowledge in advance and starting extramural studies at the AGH University of Science and Technology. SGH Warsaw School of Economics gives great opportunities to people who want to study a second field of study as it enables flexible selection of classes and a day plan.

I went to study in Freiberg as part of the Erasmus program of the AGH University of Science and Technology after the last semester of MA studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. After coming back, I defended my master's thesis at SGH and engineering thesis at AGH. In my theses, I tried to combine both fields of study: MIESI (Quantitative Methods and Information Systems) and mining. My bachelor's thesis concerned the optimization of mining departments using operational research, while the master's thesis - mining project valuation using the real options method.

I began my career path outside SGH as a junior analyst at a strategic consulting company. This work seemed to be the fulfilment of my dreams of combining two directions that I completed. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the work of an analyst had very little to do with data science, which I studied at SGH and with which I associated my further career. After 18 months, I received an offer for a senior position at Accenture. Encouraged by friends I met while studying in Germany, I decided to take the risk and moved to Munich. Today, I work as an Analytics Consultant in a thriving team. At work, I use my knowledge of quantitative methods, but also of finance, management and from engineering studies. I successfully advise clients on how to effectively use and monetize the collected data. I gained vast experience in programming and machine learning, as well as recognition of the management.

German is absolutely useful when working with clients. The issue that was and probably still is a problem for many students of the SGH Warsaw School of Economics in my case played a key role in applying for a job in Germany. That is why I sincerely recommend students to bite the bullet and buckle down to German language classes. I was very lucky to find great lecturers who did their best on our classes.

I do not regret the change. In Germany, I was given the opportunity to develop myself and the feel that my potential was fully utilized. Earnings have never been a key factor for me when it comes to choosing a job. Development opportunities and a good team atmosphere have always been the most important for me. My current job meets both conditions and my earnings are more attractive than in Poland. I am professionally fulfilled and derive great satisfaction from it. I think that the Erasmus exchange gave me a lot of courage. I recommend it to all students considering an international career - this is a first natural step.