Judith: Working with data at Facebook

Judith Dada was a member of our 2015-16 MSc group. She’s currently working at Facebook as a Client Solutions Manager in the Global Marketing Solutions team, responsible for consulting a range of e-commerce clients on how to optimize their marketing spend on Facebook and Instagram. Interview with Karen Mead.

Karen: What first attracted you to the OII? And what were you doing before?

Judith: I was looking for an opportunity to deepen my analytical skills without losing touch with the fascinating questions that social scientists can ask. My previous studies were a wild mix – communication science, economics, and technology management. I had previously gained insights into different social science fields and as well as hands-on management experience with digital technologies and innovate business models. However, I sought a chance to dive deeper and ask questions that go beyond the bottom line.

Karen: And what have you been up to since leaving the OII?

Judith: I have started working at Facebook as a Client Solutions Manager in the Global Marketing Solutions team. I am responsible for consulting a range of e-commerce clients on how to optimize their marketing spend on Facebook and Instagram. This includes a lot of work with data and many meetings with clients, but also cross-functional collaboration with creative and product teams.

Karen: How did your time at the OII prepare you for this?

Judith: At Facebook I am able to directly apply many of the skills I deepened through OII methods courses: I visualize a lot of data and work with dashboards every day, I do some analysis in R, and I use SQL to query databases. In addition, I set up A/B tests to test the effect of certain properties, e.g. an ad format or a creative. Courses like information visualization, big data analytics, experimental approaches and statistics have taught me extremely useful skills – I can highly recommend that those students looking to get into more data-driven jobs choose their courses accordingly! However, other courses like Technology & Regulation also help me to better understand the policy environment that Facebook is operating in and the different social challenges that being a 1.7 bn people platform entails.

Karen: What job-seeking advice do you have for our students?

Judith: Start the job search early, build a case around the skills that you acquire at the OII and actively seek out alumni who might be able to prep you or give you advice on the application process.

Karen: What do you miss most about Oxford?

Judith: Early morning walks across Magdalen bridge, heated discussions about the role of the Internet in society in the MSc room, and of course the amazing friends I have made.

Karen: And finally: where do you see yourself in five years?

Judith: In an exciting role – preferably in the marketing or product team – at Facebook!

Note: This post gives the views of the author(s), and not necessarily the position of the Oxford Internet Institute.