【官方答疑】2017 CWRU/CASE ORSC Operations Research&Supply Chain 凯斯西储大学运筹学与供应链

CASE_ORSC_2

2017年1月23日 更新往届毕业生详细实习/工作情况，欢迎大家多多关注！
2017年1月24日 更新教授/课程信息详细介绍。

2017年2月5日  更新校友访谈之Key Bank和Progressive，详情见11楼和12楼。
2017年3月6日 更新ORSC咨询交流微信群二维码。

2017年4月1日 更新上届找工作最新进展（见文末附件）

2017年4月27日 更新ORSC 16fall&17fall交流群二维码，里面有在读学长学姐，欢迎大家多多交流

2017年4月27日 更新Matthew Maloney(Director of ORSC)职责介绍，详情见21楼，或者直戳链接   http://lifeatweatherhead.blogspot.com/2017/04/staff-profile-matthew-maloney-director.html

2017年4月30日 更新第三学期课程设置，新增python选修课，orsc学生可以免费修~

2017年5月25日 更新ORSC 16fall入学学生 暑期实习状况

2017年12月6日 更新2018官方答疑帖 最新信息请移步【官方答疑】2018 CWRU/CASE ORSC Operations Research&Supply Chain 凯斯西储大学运筹学与供应链 https://forum.chasedream.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1287789&fromuid=1198508

Hello 大家好，我是ORSC (operations research and supply chain)2016 fall入学的在读学生，也是今年新任GA，非常高兴有机会能和大家交流，如果大家在申请中有任何问题，或者需要更多了解关于CWRU关于Cleveland等等，可以回复评论/私信/邮件。我的邮箱是  yxw1006@case.edu， 欢迎大家沟通交流。

首先传送官网 https://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/masters/ms-management/operations-research-supply-chain/
传送商学院Master申请区 http://forum.chasedream.com/foru ... 789&fromuid=1198508
也传送上一届学长学姐的帖子，http://forum.chasedream.com/thread-1254438-1-1.html
接下来，我将从Class Profile/ 课程/就业/生活几个方面来介绍ORSC专业。

2016年入学同学资料

官方信息见链接  https://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/masters/ms-management/operations-research-supply-chain/profile

2016 fall 入学的学生情况有两个较大的改变，第一个是class size减小，第二个是diversity增多。今年班里有44个同学，20.5%非中国人（其中有6个美国同学，1个加拿大同学，1个伊朗同学，1个西班牙同学）。不管是从课堂发言、小组作业，还是课余生活，他们都很乐意交流，也很包容，不得不说他们对于我们融入美国文化起到了很大作用。

同学们的本科院校背景很多样，有来自中山大学/湖南大学/对外经贸大学/西财/中财等等国内985/211高校，也有来自于OSU/ASU/OberlinCollege等等美国高校。很多同学有过海外交流经验，也有很多同学有丰富的工作经验，比较长的有5到7年之久。至于同学们的本科专业背景，59%的同学是学习商科的，其中42%学习物流/交通；学习CS和Engineering的同学占到20%；学习数学专业的占到10%；学习经济的占到7%。

由此可以看出，虽然中国同学依旧占多数，但是学校非常注重项目的diversity和就读体验，并且在不断改进。在这种多样并且优秀的同学中间学习，经历着不同文化不同思维方式的碰撞，不仅对于我们的专业知识技能有提升，对于我们的眼界以及国际化程思维也有提升。同时，中国同学多也不见得是坏事，我们的学长学姐都很helpful，不仅仅体现在刚来美国时的环境适应更容易，也是意味着在networking的时候我们有更多对象可以寻求帮助（有很多中国学长学姐在克利夫兰或者美国其他城市工作了）。

同时学校也为国际学生提供很多机会来融入环境，比如说学校的International Student Service（ISS）每周都会举办workshop从生活、学习、就业方面让国际学生更加适应美国方式，Educational Services for Students (ESS) 提供免费的SpokenEnglish Programs 以及 tutoring appointments 帮助大家提升口语，TheCenter for Civic Engagement and Learning (CCEL)提供各种形式的志愿活动机会帮助大家融入community。

学习以及课程设置

CWRU is not an easy school。总体来说项目对数理的要求还是比较高的，毕竟是STEM项目，我们的学习任务还是很重的。但是正是繁重的学习任务能让我们吸收、理解、应用更多的知识，只要用心学习，大家都能handle下来并且提升自己，这或许就是我们选择出国深造的原因吧。

具体的课程设置大家可以在官网查询。https://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/masters/ms-management/operations-research-supply-chain/curriculum
也可以参考10楼的教授/课程信息详细介绍。
在这里给大家介绍一下课程设置的亮点。

项目为了强化我们找工作的硬技能，提供R课程以及VBA课程，R是目前应用很广的数据分析软件，学习R对于运筹在供应链领域的应用，以及进入商业分析领域都非常有帮助。虽然对于没有编程经验的同学来说有些难，但是熬过去之后你会发现自己长进了不少。

项目还提供SAP workshop，SAP软件是在供应链及sourcing，采购相关的工作中非常实用并且世界排名第一的ERP软件，可以为各种行业、不同规模的企业提供全面的解决方案。每个春季学期学校都会提供免费的SAP软件的workshop，便利我们学生在找工作方面技能的优势。大概周，结束后会给我们相应的证书认证。

最后一学期的Six sigma课程，直接参与克利夫兰当地企业(包括nationwide甚至worldwide大企业，比如ClevelandClinic/Nestle)进行合作进行project，是非常好的锻炼和network的机会，课程结束得到A或B即可拿到Green belt certification。

校友及就业

官网信息 https://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/masters/ms-management/operations-research-supply-chain/careers

我们ORSC专业在美国的校友还是很广的，大部分在克利夫兰周围，也有学长学姐在纽约啊加州那边。学长学姐在新生接机啊、mentorprogram还是很积极的。

对于16年12月毕业的学长学姐，他们的暑期实习情况还是很好的，大部分找到了暑期实习。他们有在ClevelandClinic/Key Bank/American Greetings/Siemens/GE lighting /Tenneco/Walmart/UniversityHospital/Goodyear等等, 在中国的实习单位有GE healthcare/Schneider Electric/UPS/DHL/Walmart等等, 这里只列举了一部分，不完全统计。

历届学长学姐的工作情况大家可以上linkedin上面查找，对于16年12月毕业的学长学姐，据我了解已经有一部分在毕业之前已经拿到了全职offer了，有一些是暑期实习的returnoffer，有的还有sponsorship；因为圣诞节假期的原因，有些学长学姐还在等终面的消息。现在处于寒假期间，具体的就业信息开学之后我也会帮大家继续跟进的。相信我们的学长学姐会有好的工作机会的。

我们专业有很广泛的校友，这一点很好，但真正让校友变成资源的是各种connection活动，这一点我觉得CWRU做得很好。学校定期组织活动邀请校友到学校，这些校友基本上都是在行业里摸爬滚打十几年的，这就是很好的networking的机会；Weatherhead的各种club也会经常邀请校友进行讲座；包括我们的教授，也经常邀请业界的学长学姐返校交流。Weatherhead的careerservice center也经常举行关于networking等等的workshop，教你如何使用linkedin，如何network。Weatherhead还有一个有8年历史的coffeeconnection活动，给申请活动的每一位在读学生匹配一个校友作为mentor，通过coffeeconnection了解校友经历或者获取其他帮助。

在文章结尾的附件里，列举了16年初毕业的学长学姐的实习就业情况，以及17年初刚刚毕业的学长学姐的实习情况，他们的就业情况我也会实时更新的。密码见回复哈。密码：caseorsc

生活在克利夫兰

很多人都觉得克利夫兰处于中部，in the middle of nowhere, 是一个没落的城市。这些想法不是完全没有道理的，首先克利夫兰是一个城市，规模中等。制造业是这里的强项，所以供应链管理在这里有很大发挥空间。同时这里没有大城市高昂的生活成本。说是没落，我倒是没有太感觉到，反而比我之前想象得要好。

2016年的克利夫兰有许多大事件。这一年詹姆斯带领骑士队获得NBA总决赛冠军，克里夫兰印地安人队在职棒联盟的总决赛中被逆转并无缘总冠军，美国共和党全国代表大会在克利夫兰召开，推选了Trump为总统候选人。

在学习之余，我们可以坐red line直接到速贷中心看一场骑士队的比赛（学生票价很便宜），也可以去学校旁边的SeveranceHall 欣赏美国前五的克利夫兰交响乐团的演出（学生票价很便宜），也可以去附近的国家公园hiking，去校园周边的博物馆参观，学校也有挺多志愿者活动机会的。

有同学会担心这里的安全问题，这里黑人比例是不低，但是大部分黑人是友好的，尽管克利夫兰有一些区域是不推荐大家去转悠的。今年学校安全部门又新增了警力保障大家安全，学校有提供免费的saferide，可以送大家回家，从7pm到3am，非常贴心。不管在哪个地方，我们都不能掉以轻心，要注意关注周围的情况。

在CWRU有一个学期了，在这个学期感受到了来自学校和学院不同的关注和服务。不管去哪里，不管学校规模大也好小也好，资源“多”也好资源“少”也好，真正能为自己所用的资源才是有用的资源。

希望这些信息能为大家的申请啊选校啊提供一些帮助，祝愿大家一切顺利，申请到满意的学校！！如果有什么问题，不要犹豫快联系我们，我们也会持续更新这个帖子的。

嘿嘿提前带大家看一下CWRU

截至这周，根据学长学姐的回复，已经有17个学长学姐找到全职工作了，其中有13个是国际学生。工作的地点分布也比较广，有留在克利夫兰的，也有去加州/密歇根州/康涅狄格/明尼苏达州的。还有学长学姐们还在找工作的过程中，相信在之后我们会收到更多更好的消息。

CASE_ORSC_2

Farahah 发表于 2017-1-9 21:08
感谢楼主的福利！！这个项目下来总学费和生活费花费大概是多少？学长学姐一般是做什么岗位的工作呢？ ...

18个月的项目，总共的学费是53223刀，同学有10%到30%不等的奖学金。生活费要根据个人的生活质量定，这边的房租300刀到500刀到800刀不等，大部分是400刀到500刀。

有人在公司做continuous improvement（成本控制啊流程优化啊质量控制啊）；有人在采购部门负责物资采购；或者进行仓储库存管理；也有做project manager的；也有做logistics engineer的；也有学长学姐在项目所教的编程知识上继续发展，成为数据科学家data scientists；也有在咨询和电商工作的学长学姐（有学长毕业之后在京东做管培生，也有人去了IBM, 有学长在BCG/IPSOS呆过，有学姐在毕业几年之后去了加州为苹果做供应链管理）~~应用的领域还是很广泛的。

希望对你有所帮助，谢谢！

CASE_ORSC_2

Farahah 发表于 2017-1-10 09:16
非常有帮助，非常感谢，美国就业有性别歧视吗？对于育龄女性会有歧视吗？ ...

理论上没有歧视，而且很多公司会有无论性别性向年龄等等机会均等的声明。

CASE_ORSC_2

安易仁 发表于 2017-1-10 17:17
楼主好，想问下学校招生时更侧重三维，还是ESSAY面试？对GAP YEAR的学生有没有偏见？
另外本人G710，T101， ...

你好！三维/essay/面试在录取中都是很重要的评判标准。
所有的申请者都是平等的，不存在偏见。如果你的材料证明你是适合这个项目的，这个项目也适合你的目标，希望就很大。加油加油！

CASE_ORSC_2

YY桃桃 发表于 2017-1-11 00:25
支持一下～！！感谢分享～

谢谢学姐！大家也可以关注学姐的经验分享贴！

CASE_ORSC_2

在这一部分，我主要分享一下教授信息和自己的课堂体验，对于第二学期修的课程，我会继续和大家更新的。
一般大家都会选择15+15+9的安排，即第一学期和第二学期各修15学分，第三学期修9学分。这样的话在前两个学期平均每个学期5到6门课，分布在每个星期4到5天，都是在白天上课。最后一个学期3门课。学习生活很充实。


Business Core (9 credits)
The Business Core introduces students to business fundamentals and includes a professional development course, a unique feature of the Weatherhead MSM-OR/SCM not found in most of our competitors’ programs.

MSOR 407 – Managerial Marketing
我们第一学期修的，除了老师讲授理论之外，这个课通过案例分析，long/short case write-up 来帮助我们了解经典marketing strategies；还有markstrat 模拟，模拟一个产业的生命周期，然后小组成员做出production plan/marketing resource distribution/R&D plan等等决定，然后小组（competitors）进行pk来占领市场份额，这个模拟能较大程度模拟实际商业状况，锻炼我们的团队合作/决策制定/信息利用等能力。
Professor Niraj, 2001 年从Washington University in St. Louis获得phd学位，2009年加入CWRU，教学经验和科研能力都很强，在他的课堂上大家都很活跃。

MSOR 410 – Accounting and Financial Management（第二学期）
第二学期修，老师是康奈尔大学本科/纽约大学MBA/JP Morgan等公司工作多年，现在拥有自己的公司。

MSOR 485A – Individual Development
第一学期修，1.5学分，帮助了解你个人的性格特点/学习方式/career anchor/core value，帮助你认识你将来适合做哪方面的工作；鼓励我们联系alumni来帮助定位自己以及获得行业信息。
Professor Tracey Messer，在CWRU 获得的组织行为学博士学位，这是一堂seminar，所以大家有充分的机会交流，而且她也会请学校Career Management Office的工作人员来帮助打磨我们的就业能力。
MSOR 485B – Team Development（第二学期）

Operations Research Core (12 credits)
The Operations Research Core provides the mathematical, statistical, and computational skills needed by analysts in research and development groups in manufacturing and services companies and consulting firms.

    MSOR 411 – Optimization Modeling
第一学期修，数学建模，从线性规划到整数规划到非线性规划，Professor  Solow引导我们形成一种逻辑的数学思维，并且运用这种思维去解决实际问题，个人觉得这门课给之后的课打下重要的思维基础。
Professor Daniel Solow， Carnegie-Mellon University本科，University of California at Berkeley硕士，Stanford University博士，非常慈祥有趣的老爷爷，课上跟着他的思路，能把复杂的问题搞懂。

    MSOR 433 – Foundations of Probability and Statistics
第一学期修，重要的数理课程，所教的概率/分布/假设/回归等理论对于我们处理实际数据很有帮助（在第一学期感觉这就是一门数学课+编程课，到了第二学期就感受到了它的应用价值），并且设有R module，让我们联系结合数学理论处理数据，通过数据分析来产生量化的信息。课下有TA提供R workshop。
Professor Qi Wu， University of Texas at Austin博士，我觉得她能给我们讲清楚数学理论的why，其实这堂课的部分内容在大学时候已经涉及过，但当时只是记记公式应付考试，考完就忘记了，但是在这堂课上我真正消化了那些公式是如何而来，这种推导的思维对于应用很重要。她还联系了很多在业界从事数据分析的学长学姐，让他们讲授这堂课的知识是如何被应用的。

    MSOR 435B – Integrated Problem Solving in OR and SC
第一学期修，主要学习运用数学建模，运用VBA/EXCEL/Opensover获得解决方案，期末的project是建立/解决/展示一个真实的库存优化模型。
还是Professor Solow教这堂课。课下也有TA提供VBA workshop。

    OPRE 402 – Stochastic Models with Applications （第二学期）
    MSOR 432 – Computer Simulation （第二学期）

Supply Chain Courses (18 credits)
Supply chain courses build upon the business and quantitative foundation to provide advanced knowledge in operations and supply chain management.

    MSOR 406 – Operations Management
第一学期修，主要内容是流程分析/排队理论/库存管理/质量控制等，并且结合相应的案例分析巩固我们的理论基础，这些基础的供应链理论在之后的学习何工作中的应用很大。一学期有两次littlefield的模拟，这对于我们应用课堂上学习的理论非常有帮助。
Professor Jie Ning，University of Michigan, Ann Arbor博士，她的课逻辑挺强的， 信息量也大。这些对于第二学期的课程打下理论基础。

    MSOR 420 – Six Sigma and Quality Management

    Four elective courses
Elective Options
    At most one of the following:
        MSOR 422 – Lean Operations （第二学期）
        MSOR 412 – Lean Services
    At most one of the following:
        MSOR 450 – Project Management （第三学期）
        MSOR 452 – Project Quality
    MSOR 477 – Enterprise Resource Planning in the Supply Chain （第二学期）
    MSOR 476 – Strategic Sourcing
    MSOR 475 – Supply Chain Logistics （第三学期）

CASE_ORSC_2

Bob Kula at KeyBank
By: John Duggan and Joslynn Clauson

        On November 14, we had the pleasure of conducting an informational interview with Robert Kula, EVP and  the Chief Modeling & Analytics Officer at KeyCorp. We were extremely excited to meet Mr. Kula, and learn more about the bank.  Overall, the goal of this interview process was to gain insight into the various working roles that graduates from CWRU Weatherhead Specialty Masters Programs could potentially fulfill upon graduation.

        After two and a half hours of speaking with Mr. Kula, we had a much better understanding of the business environment at KeyCorp. Mr. Kula and his office assistant Anita provided us with an excellent interviewing opportunity, and gave us many insights into the bank, as well as into a career possibilities within Risk Management. In the following Q&A style write-up, we share Mr. Kula’s answers to some of our most pressing questions about Risk Modeling & Analytics at Key, hopefully giving our readers a more robust view of this industry and company.

What do you do? What are the duties/functions/responsibilities of your job?
I lead the Risk Modeling & Analytics team within Risk Management.  It is a team of roughly 100 modelers and analysts focused on providing solutions to drive business strategy and maximize the risk/reward trade-off.  Members of the team have undergraduate and graduate degrees across a wide spectrum of majors, including but not limited to math, physics, financial engineering, computer science, economics, and finance.

My team is responsible for a number of activities, including stress testing, which gauges the bank’s ability to withstand economic downturns and other adverse events impacting the industry.  The term “CCAR” (Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review) and stress testing have become synonymous in the banking industry ever since the Great Recession.  So credit loss forecasting is an important component of the stress testing process.  The team also builds numerous models that are used in the credit decisioning process and in the financial crimes space (e.g., anti-money laundering and fraud).  Additionally, the team calculates the bank’s loan loss reserves.  
Every day I am very focused on the most important asset in the bank – the people.  My role is to make sure my team is equipped with the right tools to do their job, which includes providing the appropriate training and education along the way.   I am very focused on being an “exporter of talent” which allows members of my team to advance in their careers to other positions either within Risk Management or other parts of the bank.

I report directly to the bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Bill Hartmann.  He reports to the bank’s CEO, Beth Mooney.

Why did this type of work interest you, and how did you get started?
My first exposure to Risk Management and analytics was when I interned at Firestone Tire and Rubber in their Credit department.  (Note that Firestone became Bridgestone/Firestone in the late 80’s.)  At the time, I was working on my undergraduate degree in Computer Science.  Upon graduation, I worked there full time as I continued on for my MBA (Finance Concentration).  I then worked in their Finance department until I came to the bank in the early 90’s.

My interest in numbers, though, started at a very young age.  Back when I was a kid (before video games) all sports board games involved either dice or spinners (believe it or not).  While I loved playing the games, I liked keeping the statistics even more, and analyzing them.  So numbers and analysis were always fun.  I likely would have majored in math if computer science had not been the “sexy” degree at the time I was in school.  

What part of this job do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?
Working with my team at Key is the most satisfying part of his job, because as I noted before, the people are the bank’s most important asset.  Building and leading a team is very important to me.  This includes providing training and education, and exposing people to other areas of the bank.  There is nothing more rewarding than seeing an employee that had worked for me progress in their own career.  In addition to working with people, I enjoy presenting at Board and Committee meetings, as well as at outside industry conferences.

As far as challenges, for me the hardest part of the workday is to know when to go home.  So creating the right work/life balance is something that requires my attention (quite regularly).  I believe it is important to find a work environment and job that brings you satisfaction.  As far as one’s work/life balance, I sometimes think that feeling that you are “falling just a little short on every component of your life” might in fact be the closest one can get to a perfect “work/life” balance.

What do you like most about Key, and what advice could you give us for working in a career like yours?
I most like working at a bank that values its employees.  I thank Beth Mooney and Bill Hartmann for creating this type of environment within Risk Management and Key overall.  I am proud of an organization like Key that embraces diversity and inclusion.  All of this allows employees to thrive, and to focus on doing the things to best serve Key’s clients.   I also like the fact that my team works on many high profile initiatives of the bank, including stress testing and the bank’s recent acquisition of First Niagara Bank.  Playing a major role in these types of initiatives is very rewarding.

My advice would be to continue to learn every day.  Do not come out of school thinking that the learning part is finally over.  A lot of my learnings these days come from our new hires. Whether it be new technologies or social media, I am learning more now than ever.  Things change very quickly, so being open to change is essential these days.  In fact, change needs to be embraced.  Finally, it is also important to not be afraid to ask for help.  Everyone needs help on occasion, and only through raising one’s hand and escalating can some issues or challenges be best solved.

How is the economy affecting this industry?
Banks have been around for a long time, and they will continue to be around.  Banks like Key have weathered the storm of economic downturns for almost 200 years.  They will continue to be there to provide financial services and advice for the clients they serve in good times and bad.  Every day, Key is focused on helping our communities grow, whether it be by helping a couple settle into their first home, or helping a company serve new markets.

The banking industry has embraced analytics much more in recent years.  Analytics have helped identify areas of growth as well as new business opportunities.  Analytics also allows the bank to be more proactive than reactive from a risk management perspective, i.e., uncovering challenges and/or issues before they turn into problems.  Being strong analytically can help a bank differentiate itself from the competition, and thereby optimize the risk/reward trade-off.

What can you tell me about the employment outlook in your occupational field? How much demand is there for people in this occupation? How rapidly is the field growing?
I feel that the employment outlook is very good with increased demand for employees who can perform modeling and analytics.  Not only the largest banks, but regional banks like Key need to have strong modeling and analytics teams.  A recent industry study noted that while 15% of risk management positions at financial institutions are deemed “analytical” today, it is estimated that by 2025 that number will grow to 40%.  And I agree with this.  Banks that do not focus on analytics will fall behind.
Sound interesting?  Read on for specific information about your degree, and how a career at Key could work for you!

    If your degree is in Finance, Business Analytics, or OR/SC (Operational Research and Supply Chain), you would have the skills that could be utilized at financial services companies like Key, particularly in their Risk Modeling and Analytics group within Risk Management.  There are a wide range of modeling and analytical functions that would align with the skillsets that you are gaining.




Conclusion:
        Mr. Kula had some interesting advice for interviewing at a company such as Key. Candidates that make it to the interviewing stages are all bound to have very well developed skills.  So communication skills and an interest and knowledge about the bank become differentiators.  Also, if you have something you want to share during the interview make sure you do so.  If you have done volunteer work, extra projects, or interesting internships make that known.  A person that can contribute to the diverse thinking and diverse background of the team is someone that Mr. Kula thinks can make it to the final stages. The desire to learn new things is an attribute that many employers, not only Mr. Kula, search for in candidates.
Mr. Kula also gave us some insight with regards to the overall application process with Key if readers are interested in exploring things further. First apply online at Key.com with an updated, complete, and thorough resume and cover letter displaying the value that you would bring to the company. Second, contact a recruiter if possible via LinkedIn informing them of your submitted application and interest in working for the company.  Finally, set-up a professional voicemail and make sure to check your email or application status for updates.  
Recent Weatherhead graduates have accepted positions at Key Bank as Quantitative Risk Analyst, Quantitative Risk Modeler, Risk Analyst and Lean Six Sigma Process Design Consultant.

CASE_ORSC_2

LisaDunnigan and Melissa Smith

By: JohnDuggan and Joslynn Clauson

On November 21st, we had the privilege of meeting with Melissa Smith and Lisa Dunnigan at Progressive’s headquarters just outside of Cleveland in Mayfield Village. Melissa Smith is a senior talent search specialist and Lisa Dunnigan, who serves as a talent acquisition sourcing manager. Both are heavily involved in the company’s analyst hiring process. Lisa Dunnigan is also a Case Western Reserve University graduate, earning her MBA.

Before we discuss the actual content of the interview, we would like to take a moment to talk about the remarkable art tour we were a part of!  There were so many art exhibits in the Progressive campus, ranging from beautiful and decorative to edgy and controversial - it was clearly an environment tailor-made to induce creative thinking and inspire both guests and employees.   The art even inspires the names of board rooms and meeting areas!  The culture at Progressive was palpable, and we could feel it the moment we set foot in the building. Featuring a gym, wellness center, robust food court, and other comfort amenities, it was easy to tell that Progressive cares about the wellbeing of their employees.  We thank Progressive for the opportunity to tour their amazing facilities, and get more information about the company’s exciting analyst opportunities.

What do analysts do? What are the duties/functions/responsibilities of your job as an analyst at Progressive?
An analyst at Progressive is responsible for solving many different types of complex problems and modeling environments.  Analysts answer questions regarding probability and statistics, with a focus on return on investment or loss prevention.  Progressive analysts also focus on new product construction and market research for new types of bundles or packages of goods, as well as services for consumers.  Finally, Progressive analysts get to “play with” and explore data from new and interesting sources, such as Progressive’s usage based insurance technology, Snapshot.  They look for patterns and data-mine the information, hoping to uncover correlations that could be used to benefit the company and consumers by personalizing insurance.

Why is this type of work interesting, and how do people get started?
        Melissa said two words that resonated with us: Cool Tools!  Some students  thinking of working in insurance envision somewhat dry work, running dry, bland regressions and making dry, bland predictions – but Progressive doesn’t foster this type of work at all!  They are using the latest tools and analytics to change how insurance is done… from software “new kids on the block” like Hadoop and R, to the tried and true favorites like SAS and SQL, there is a place for all programming and analytics styles at Progressive.  Lisa explained to us how insurance is an exciting industry that is joining other analyst-heavy industries in utilizing modern (and progressive!) tools to get the job done.

What part of working for Progressive do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?
Melissa’s Personal story:
Melissa continuously spoke of the people that she works with. Regardless of profession or role within the company, Melissa believes that the work culture unites everyone who surrounds her. The synergy of striving for the same goal and integrating others’ feedback into many different innovative projects is why Melissa believes that she works with a fantastic group of people. In describing Progressive’s collaborative culture, she was once told by a family friend about working at progressive, “either you're there for one year or forever.” Melissa believes that what could be said about the culture amongst her colleagues could be said about the entire company.  She describes this culture as collaborative and geared toward creating processes that result in excellent outcomes. For people at Progressive, they are not afraid to ask questions, challenge the status quo and collaborate to reach common goals.

Progressive is committed to fostering an environment that values employee work-life balance.  Melissa was able to point to a specific instance in her career at Progressive that exemplified the company’s commitment to this. At her seven-year mark, Melissa was thoroughly involved in Progressive and viewed as a valued employee. Around this time, she was a full-time employee and was thinking about having a child. At some point, she informed her manager that she was going to quit or take extended leave to focus on her growing family. When her manager heard this, she went to her leaders to discuss how the company should move forward. The entire leadership team decided that they were not going to lose her. They chose to allow her to work part-time so that she could be with her son during his early childhood. When Melissa felt that it was time for her to go back to full-time work, she was given the opportunity and retained her seniority. This is one of the reasons that Melissa chose to stay with Progressive for such a long time.

As we can see from Melissa’s story, Progressive works with employees on individualized career paths and values work-life balance.

What do you like most about Progressive, and what advice could you give us for working in a career here?
        Progressive is a place where forward thinking and inspiration are an important part of the everyday work atmosphere.   The people, per our interviewees, are the best part of the job.  Everyone, from the CEO to an entry-level analyst, is taken into respectful consideration during the decision-making process at Progressive.  Once, during a meeting, the CEO was humble enough to say that her goal at work was to, “not let you guys [every employee at the company] down.”  Humility, even at the highest level of a massive corporation, helps set Progressive apart.

At Progressive, there is also a culture of unprecedented trust in employees - there are gyms, quiet rooms, cafes and engaging artwork, that help employees feel comfortable and free to do their work in an environment that suits them best.  This trust helps employees be more productive and design a schedule and work lifestyle that matches their home lifestyle.  This helps them to take greater ownership of their work. There is also a culture of dressing in a way that makes you the most productive. Employee ownership of their professional lives helps create a dynamic, inspiring environment where people enjoy coming to work.

There were three major pieces of advice Lisa and Melissa gave us about working in a dynamic, employee-focused environment. First, we were told that places like Progressive are looking for people who can not only do good work by themselves, but also work together so that the collective efforts of the team are elevated.  Being someone that knows how to add value, and who can receive feedback in a thoughtful, productive way is a major asset in an environment focused on employee relationships.  Secondly, individual accountability is key in order to ensure continued excellence aligned with the flexibility that Progressive offers.   The Progressive environment relies on open communication and everyone putting in 110% effort.  It’s important that team members can be counted on and rely on each other. Finally, connect with your coworkers.  Community-centric and inclusive employee environments thrive on connection and accountability between people and building these connections will not only increase your happiness in the workplace, it will also increase your productivity and creativity!  Companies like Progressive need people they can trust, and people who thrive in an environment where they can be themselves.

What can you tell me about the employment outlook in this occupational field? How much demand is there for people in this occupation? How rapidly is the field growing?
Analytics and programming are exploding right now in Progressive, as well as in other statistically oriented fields. There has been massive growth in this sector as Progressive and others begin to leverage their data warehouses and search for potential cost savings or profit opportunities.  

Where you end up working amongst a team at Progressive depends on who you are, and what you bring to the table, as noted by Melissa. There are a variety of specialized teams that analysts can be a part of at Progressive, such as teams that deal with claims and subrogation issues. There are also teams that handle optimization problems involving various real estate topics.  Another team deals with R&D, which involves heavy statistics and predictive analysis.  ORSC students could fit comfortably within these specialized teams at Progressive, as these teams deal with risk assessment and analysis. Insurance is a customer, people-centric business where analysts can impact company practices and more importantly, customers.

In terms of job growth, the job outlook for data related positions is very positive. Progressive is always looking for bright minds to come into the various quantitative teams and make a significant impact.

Sound interesting?  Read on for specific information about your degree, and how a career at Progressive could work for you!
        Progressive looks for individuals who want to be a part of a growing work environment promoting excellence in all areas. The most basic requirements to be a prime candidate in their eyes is a bachelor’s degree and an analytical aptitude. The teams that want analysts in these positions prefer working knowledge with SAS and SQL. Knowledge of these two programs are beneficial when contributing to teams early on. Additionally, general knowledge of R or Matlab, paired with advanced Excel, is a huge asset to the team, and helps make candidates stand out. Other such programs that were mentioned in the interview were Hadoop, Python, and Tableau.

        Students who are currently in the MSBA and ORSC programs have skills that directly apply to many of the jobs mentioned in this article. With a little outside knowledge and passion about various other programming languages not explicitly taught in class, the skills learned will directly or indirectly transition into a promising career at Progressive. The only next step is to apply and show passion!

Knowledge of the coding languages mentioned above is prevalent among students in the MSBA and ORSC programs, but not specifically in the Finance programs. Progressive often has Finance positions available, from auditors to accountants, which usually require several years of experience. Progressive also has an accounting internship and rotational program and participants are given a first look for full-time positions. Some of these positions require strong knowledge of strong knowledge of Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), intermediate query language skills (SAS, MBI, People Soft general ledger queries) and working knowledge of IT systems used for accounting and financial reporting.  

Conclusion:
When considering potential work environments, do you want to be surrounded by bland colors, traditional architecture and a dull perspective?  Or would you rather be part of an exciting atmosphere, full of artwork and color, innovative architecture and a renewed perspective? For us, the choice is obvious. Although not traditionally perceived by some students to be an innovative industry to work in, the environment that we experienced during our Progressive tour raised the bar for the work experience at an insurance company. With art exhibits intertwined within the topography of the common spaces, and such friendly employees, Progressive is a great place to work. With the growth of all fields related to quantitative research and sophisticated coding expanding, Progressive is looking for candidates who have sophisticated skills and passion for their work. Graduates from the specialty programs at Weatherhead are well-qualified to work in this field. The next step is to apply and show passion for working in a collaborative, winning atmosphere! With headquarters located in Northeastern Ohio, working for Progressive can be a great transition from being a full-time student, to entering the workforce and leveraging the skills gained at Weatherhead.  Recent Weatherhead graduates have accepted roles as Pricing Analysts, Senior Resource Analyst and Resource Planning Analyst II.

CASE_ORSC_2

luoluodlo 发表于 2017-3-10 16:44
问个不太适合但是很多人都会问的问题，同是供应链专业，case western和隔壁的osu该怎么取舍。很多介绍osu或 ...

谢谢你的建议。我们主要是介绍自己的项目，为大家提供信息，方便大家选择最适合自己的项目，具体的比较还是需要大家结合自身条件多方面权衡做出的。

CASE_ORSC_2

土豆圆酱 发表于 2017-4-13 13:27
楼主可以拉一下我进群嘛？472926540微信号，二维码失效啦

ok！