A love of maths leads
to a satisfying job
Andrew Chiu
Course graduated from: BSc, BEng majoring
in mathematics
Year of graduation: 2012
Job: Analyst at Deloitte Australia
Career: Data analyst
Reflection: “Science definitely taught me how
to think critically and then how to be able to
summarise information in a way that’s
understandable by other people.”
“You’ll eventually find
something that catches your
eye that you want to chase.”
Andrew Chiu always enjoyed mathematics at school
and studying pure maths at Monash. As an
undergraduate he didn’t know how he would use it
professionally. But some research and a dash of
initiative helped him land a job he didn’t even know
existed - and which he now loves.
Chiu is a graduate analyst with Deloitte Australia. He
analyses data for clients and advises them on how
they can improve their business using that information.
Analytics remains a mystery for most
“A lot of people don’t understand what analytics can do
for them,” says Chiu.
“Before I started here I would have thought an analyst
just drew graphs and joined the dots. It’s only when
you get your hands into it that you realise the
advantages you’re making – you’re learning how
people, society and the world are using that to impact
the world.”
The son of two teachers from Hong Kong, Chiu was
born in New Zealand and lived there until his parents
came to Australia in 2001.
He graduated from Monash in 2012 after five years at
university with a science degree majoring in maths with
a minor in physics, and an engineering degree.
Chiu started trawling online for jobs that interested him
in his fourth year and came across the work at Deloitte
Analytics. He applied for vacation work with the
company.
Vacation job turns into career job
“I really wanted to see what I could do with the skills I’d
learnt at uni,” says Chiu. He took on the one-month
vacation position at the end of 2011, and was invited
back to work for the company after he’d finished
university.
Chiu says he had to develop ‘soft skills’ such as how to
communicate well with clients after he left Monash.
Deloitte offers its graduates a course that teaches
skills other than technical ones such as
communication, business writing and design thinking.
Science has given him critical skills that he cherishes:
“Science definitely taught me how to think critically and
then how to be able to summarise information in a way
that’s understandable by other people”.
No two jobs are the same
Deloitte Analytics works with a broad range of clients;
health care providers, hospitals, insurers and
government among them. Chiu might use data to
optimise the routes used by couriers one day then work
on geospatial analysis for a retailer wanting to expand
the next.
“I love the work because an analyst does such a wide
variety of things – no two jobs are the same for me.”
His advice to anyone with a science degree who hasn’t
decided what to do with it is: “You really have to keep
your eyes open for opportunities. Explore things. You’ll
eventually find something that catches your eye that you
want to chase. Then go for it.”