Dorota Biedzio currently works as a Technical Research Analyst in the Post Secondary Education policy area at MDRC, a non-profit, nonpartisan policy research organization. She uses the technical knowledge and programming skills she learned during her studies at NYU to process data and automate their workflow to make the policy area more efficient, and to create clear and informative data visualizations.
What is your current position and employer?
I work at MDRC, which is a non-profit, nonpartisan policy research organization. My current position is "Technical Research Analyst" in the Post Secondary Education policy area, where we work with community colleges to implement and test interventions aimed at improving academic outcomes for students. I work with the data team to process the data and generate exhibits for reports detailing the impact estimates of our interventions.
How does this job relate to your studies at NYU? My job relates to my studies at NYU because I work with data everyday and I apply my technical knowledge and skills to research. Specifically, I use my programming skills to process data and automate our workflow to make our policy area more efficient, and to create clear and informative data visualizations.
What was something you especially value from your time at NYU Steinhardt? Was there a course or professor or particular challenge that sticks with you?
I value the level of effort the professors put into helping their students. I always felt I could come to any of the professors with questions about the content we were learning or career-related questions and they always made time to speak with me. I also value the community I had and the friends I made. And I value the thought and care that went into creating the A3SR program and curriculum. The professors always wanted to get our feedback about their courses and actually applied it!
How did you end up in your current role?
It happened very serendipitously. I applied for the position in my last semester at NYU after learning about MDRC through one of Jennifer Hill's courses. I went in for an interview but I didn't hear back for about a month (turns out, there was an unexpected hiring freeze). I got busy with final projects, so I stopped applying for a few weeks. Then, right as I was getting back into the job hunt, MDRC reached out just in time for me to start my full-time job right after graduation.
Do you have any words of advice for current grad students?
I encourage current grad students not to get disheartened if they have been on the job hunt for a while. I thought I didn't get the job, but in reality there were internal roadblocks that delayed the company. Sometimes it's not you, it's them. Continue applying and something will come along! I would also encourage current grad students to keep an open mind. You might get a job offer that isn't quite what you were expecting, or the role might not be as "fancy" as you thought, but every experience has value, and your current job can be a stepping stone to something more fitting in the future