Steven Van Der Walt

What is your role, and what does it entail?

I work as a Customer Advisory Technical Systems Engineer Intern at SAS in the Brisbane office. As part of my role at SAS, in the first couple of months of my internship, I was responsible for conducting various training courses which helped developed my knowledge about SAS software, programming, data analytics, and presentations. In addition, I also connect with other interns and SAS experts and learn from their experiences. I utilized the knowledge I gained from my training to work on various projects using SAS software and open-source software where I support my team members on various opportunities. One of the projects I am working on is assisting law enforcement agencies and investigators speed up the investigation process using analytics.

What does a typical day look like for you? Or is every day different?

My days are different depending on the various meetings I have and the projects I am working on. Below I will share what my typical Wednesday looks like, with room for changes based on the projects I am working on.

6.15 AM

I just woke up. Still half-asleep I find my way to the bathroom where a shower quickly wakes me up and gets me ready for the day. As part of my morning routine, I have a coffee before I leave the house and cook myself lunch which usually consists of chicken, rice, and veggies.

7.10 AM

I get in the car with my dad who takes me to the train station. I get to catch up with him on my way there before I head off on the train to Brisbane City.

7.30 AM

The train arrives at my station. My hour-long journey starts with finding a seat. After I found a seat, I immediately put on my headphones, and start playing ambient music while I read an interesting book. I absolutely love reading self-development books. Today I am reading The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. 

8.30 AM

I arrive in Brisbane City and walk to the office. I am fascinated by the trees and small parks blending in with the city's concrete jungle.

8.45 AM 

I arrived at the office and was greeted with a warm welcoming smile from the concierge. I take the lift and set up my workstation. I open my emails and mentally sort through what tasks I need to get done today. I write the most important tasks in my diary and start tackling them first.

9.00 AM

I start working on one of my projects. I am in the process of finishing up a project where I am leading the redesign of assets for the fraud and security intelligence practice and documenting the process. I need to get my code working to ensure the successful automation of the asset redesign. 

10.00 AM

I am delighted that my code works successfully. I share the document with my team who will review my work and provide feedback. I look outside the window and appreciate the beautiful view on a gloomy day.

10.30 AM

The Brisbane team have ‘Tea-m meetings’ on Wednesday mornings. Today our team is celebrating my birthday which happened over the weekend with cake.  I enjoy the delicious doughnuts and chat with my colleagues. 

11.00 AM

It’s planning time. I am starting my work on analyzing data on a digital program designed to investigate the effects which target adolescent sleep on sleep outcomes and mental health. Before I start the analysis, I would like to have a clear plan in mind of what my objective is in analyzing the data. Time to dive into the planning stage of the analysis. 

12.30 PM

Lunchtime. I brought my lunch from home. I head to the kitchen, warm up my lunch and sit in the common lunch area where I check the latest cricket highlights and social media posts.

1.30 PM 

I continue my planning for the analysis I am doing on the sleeping app. I start writing codes using SAS software to collect the necessary data. I analyze the data and start planning the techniques I will use to clean and manipulate the data. 

3.30 PM

Time for a meeting. I have a meeting with one of the senior system engineers in my team. We discuss a demo that he previously did. I get some ideas from him in presenting and demoing the solution to my team which helps develop my presentation skills.

4.10 PM

Back to work. I made steady progress in planning my analysis of the sleeping app and collecting the necessary data. Now I will continue cleaning the data following my structured plan.

5.00 PM

Time to head home. I make my way back to the train station. I listen to my favourite music on my commute back home.

6.30 PM 

Time to hit the gym. Today I am doing a quick triceps, chest, and shoulder workout. I have dinner, spend quality time with my family and get ready to go to bed.

10.00 PM 

Bedtime!

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