Early lessons from 10 AofA interviews

To date we’ve profiled 10 hard-working folks using their skills and time to do good things with data. Folks with 20+ years experience and folks making the transition into the space. Folks with bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and folks with PhDs in political science. Folks with… ok, I think you get it.

So what have we learned from our numerically limited but mighty first cohort?

Community is an integral part of the work — Many we’ve spoken with are one of the few, if not only, people plying their trade at their organization. This work can be isolating. Pair that with a rapidly-evolving discipline that lacks a lot of formal structure, mentorship pathways, and context, and the need for connection is massive — for education, for enjoyment, and for maintaining one’s sanity. It’s clear the appetite is there given the bounty of meetups, conferences, and other excuses for gathering in communities everywhere. If you’re not involved in a group that meets in person at least once a month, consider it. Several folks we’ve chatted with have worked to build those communities themselves, including Catalina Arango with the R-Ladies Meetup in Miami, and Dave Mathias with the Twin Cities Data Fluency Group in Minneapolis.

For mission-driven data, KISS is a good mantra — We’re not ones for name-calling, but Keep It Simple, Stupid, is most often a fit mindset for the space. Doing good data work with limited resources is a different animal than what many have experienced in more developed commercial environments, or in the classroom. You might not find yourself flexing your mighty analytic muscles, but rather doing something technically simple but highly valuable. This can be a hard adjustment but that’s ok — if simple analysis gets the job done, direct your limited time and attention elsewhere.

There is no archetype — This craft isn’t law, it’s not medicine. Most working in the space did not come through a large, well-defined pipeline, though those are certainly evolving. They fell into it, were sucked into it, weaseled their way into it, aren’t even sure if they are into it, hopped-skipped-and-jumped into it, you name it. There’s a certain organic (though with some systemic issues that need dealing with) beauty in this state, it adds a greater diversity of perspective, and it certainly makes the conversations more interesting.

Favorite Recommendation so far — Non-Profit AF — An irreverent look at life in the non-profit sector. Featuring healthy guidance like How to tidy your organization using the KonMari method, and Tips for non-profit professionals who suck at vacationing.

Looking forward to seeing what the next series of conversations teaches us.