- Hello Paul, thank you for giving us some time! Can you quickly introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Paul Eisermann, I am 35 years old, I live in Offenbach near Frankfurt (Germany) and I have been working as a SAS Consultant at Positive Thinking Company for almost 2 years. Before joining Positive Thinking Company, I worked in a similar position for 2 years.
- What was your background before joining us?
I am a social scientist and studied sociology in Frankfurt. After that, I got involved with SAS and eventually started working for my first employer as a SAS Consultant. However, I had been interested in IT and programming long before that and had worked part-time in the IT department of a bank as a student.
- Can you describe your position as a SAS Consultant?
As a consultant, I work on projects for customers. In the SAS team, we focus on solutions based on SAS. The position itself is very varied It can be very technical, with lots of programming tasks. But it can also be very methodical and project management-oriented. And you also deal with many other tools and technologies besides SAS.
- Thank you for this description which allows us to understand more about your job! Would you say that there is a typical day as SAS Consultant?
No, not really. But if I had to choose, it would be a day where there is a little bit of everything. Appointments with the internal team or with my SAS colleagues. Solving different tasks for the client (project management, programming, etc.). Every day looks a little different, but that is what’s exciting about the job.
Every day looks a little different, but that is what’s exciting about the job.
- If you imagine a typical project in your environment : what is your role in it?
Typically for me, I work as a SAS developer in the projects. Most of the time, the SAS technology is already on-site at the customer. One of the customer’s departments assigns me as a SAS expert to technically implement certain requirements. Usually I do not work in the IT department, but am directly involved in the business departments such as marketing, controlling, digital transformation, etc.
- Speaking of projects, is there a subject that has interested you more than another?
I have to say that all previous projects have been very interesting, so this is a difficult question. Again, if I had to choose, I would name my first project at Positive Thinking Company. The project was with a bank and dealt with a specific topic in regulatory reporting. We developed a complete risk reporting system directly on the bank’s Datamart that met all the requirements of the European Central Bank (ECB). This meant writing a large amount of SAS code ad hoc and understanding complex requirements in financial mathematics and statistics. By the end of the project, we had realized an application with very basic technology that produced a complete risk report in accordance with international accounting standards. The exciting thing was to be centrally involved in how the bank interacts with the ECB as the regulator, fulfilling a very critical function in the financial system. From a methodological point of view, the whole financial statistics was also a very interesting challenge for me.
- What roles make up a typical project team in your environment?
Often it is the team leaders or department heads from the respective department with whom I work closely. These people usually also have the project management for the respective project, pay attention to time and budget and give me instructions. Internal employees at the customer are then my contacts for further and more detailed questions. Those are what we call know-how carriers. They are very important for arriving at the project technically and being able to implement the requirements quickly and correctly.
- Have you evolved professionally since you joined Positive Thinking Company (change of position)?
Not in the narrow sense. But evolution is a topic that has become very important at Positive Thinking Company. For example, there are different role segments where you can evolve. I’m evolving more towards being a subject matter expert, and over time I’d like to fill more of a role where my colleagues call on me to be an expert on my subject. It’s not a role change, but I have the perspective to develop and take responsibility in a specific topic area.
I’m evolving more towards being a subject matter expert, and over time I’d like to fill more of a role where my colleagues call on me to be an expert on my subject.
- Finally, what is your best memory at Positive Thinking Company?
Relatively shortly after I started, there was an event in Mallorca. This was, of course, the perfect opportunity for me to get to know my colleagues in a “vacation setting” and in a relaxed atmosphere. The trip was really a lot of fun and a very special event that I had never experienced before.
- Thank you Paul for this interview which allowed us to know a little more about your role within the Positive Thinking Company!
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