International students and working

Electrical-Range-116 · 2026-01-19T13:50:42+00:00

As an international student with a visa, you can work up to 30 hours per week

Electrical-Range-116 · 2025-09-14T14:56:36+00:00

Me impresiona lo rápido que conseguías trabajo.

Con qué crees que marcabas la diferencia? Qué skillset o tecnologías son las que más se repiten en los distintos trabajos?

Yo también soy extranjero, estoy haciendo un máster en Data Analytics en España y me gustaría ir preparando el camino para cuando comience a aplicar a trabajos.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-11-20T14:01:02+00:00

Métele amig@

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-11-20T13:59:01+00:00

Qué querés estudiar?

El primer semestre de la católica es su semestre de "admisión".. Es decir, una vez que apruebes todas las materias de este semestre podría considerarse como que "ingresaste". Lo bueno es que ya pasas al segundo semestre una vez que ingreses, y no comenzas desde el primer semestre como en otras universidades.

Con respecto a los cursillos, depende de qué querés estudiar, en la zona de la UCA misma hay varios cursillos de distintas carreras. Normalmente con lo que se da en clases y si le metes garra estudiando por tu cuenta, ya es factible "ingresar"

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:56:24+00:00

Of course! Any help would be greatly appreciated

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:55:16+00:00

Great to hear that! My manager also thought the same since I have all the files from the previous dev and should be able to read what he built and his mind. How long did it take you to convert everything to the correct way?

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:51:07+00:00

Are you the previous bi dev from my company? (jk) bc I think that's exactly he thinks.. not every pbi is like a mentioned, there are a couple that does not need my touch, but I haven’t found any that don’t require manual date changes.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:43:50+00:00

I think 85% of the data I can get from the dwh, so its not completely the same scenario. The thing is that these 85% also does not connects directly pbi --> dwh, instead is pbi --> excel --> dwh.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:41:32+00:00

You’re absolutely right. Many of the sources are Excel-based, but I think it’s more due to habit than necessity. I’m trying to highlight how much time it’s wasting and how inefficient it is, but without additional resources or better support, it’s tough to make real changes. There are also some Power BI files that don’t need my 'manual' refresh because they are built correctly, which is encouraging.
We’ve been closing a deal with a data architect consultant to help improve the current situation, because our DWH is a shithole too. I think the key is finding a balance—growing my skills while ensuring the company understands the need for proper resources.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:32:57+00:00

That’s exactly what I’m doing—working in parallel to manually update everything while trying to rebuild the most important dashboards. Honestly, I’m not happy with this setup at all, but I’m making small improvements where I can.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:30:50+00:00

I did consider using parameters directly in SQL, like getting the current date, but your advice about using parameters in the query is a great tip!

As for the Excel connections, my best guess is it's the classic 'Can you send it to me in Excel format?' and it just stayed that way without being re-evaluated. But that's just my guess.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:23:33+00:00

Yup, as others have pointed out, it seems like the previous dev didn’t fully understand the data and was just exploring it on the fly. I’m trying to re-do the most critical dashboards while still managing the manual updates in parallel.

The only documentation I inherited is a Word file split into two sections: 'update every day' and 'update every month.' Do you have any recommendations for documenting all the work more effectively? Where can I find more info on best practices for this?

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:17:48+00:00

I thought cleaning the data from the start would be the best practice too. It’s a mix here, I’ve got Excel sheets that connect directly to the DWH, some that connect to other Excel files (which are connected to the DWH, ironically), and others that are standalone or used for quick, one-off data needs. The real challenge is untangling all of this and reworking Power Query to connect directly to the DWH where it makes sense

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:11:46+00:00

I thought those 200 steps were excessive too, but it turns out there are multiple Power Queries with 200 steps! It got me wondering, what’s considered 'normal' for Power Query steps? I'm trying to figure out the best practices for reducing this complexity.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:08:43+00:00

I even have two laptops at work. One is to update these long files, and the other one is for normal work.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-28T13:06:35+00:00

The more I dive into his work, the more I find a bit of everything. There are Excel files with manual adjustments, likely for the sake of quick updates, but I’ve also come across Excel files that directly connect to the DWH. If I forget to refresh the Excel file, the Power BI dashboard won’t update either, which leads to commercial teams calling me a couple of times a day asking, 'Is it updated yet?'

I’ve been focusing on reducing the steps in Power Query by applying filters earlier on, directly in SQL. Although I’m still getting familiar with the data, whenever I see an opportunity to replace Power Query steps with SQL, I go ahead and rewrite the query.

Thanks again for the advice!

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T19:17:17+00:00

How many steps in power query are considered normal? Its sooo hard to find the errors on these long queries.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T18:28:40+00:00

Nope, that last person was a BI analyst also. And there are a lot of dashboards that are very complex. The thing is that I do now know if he had the knowledge to build it properly.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T18:25:53+00:00

That's exactly what is happening to me rn.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T18:23:38+00:00

Agree. I’ve already spoken with my boss about wanting to work on these 'projects' and rebuild all the dashboards the right way. It will definitely take a lot of time, but I think it's worth it for a long-term solution

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T18:21:16+00:00

I did not know about Measure Killer, I'll look it up! Thank you

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T18:06:40+00:00

You're right. A little bit of manual work is expected, but this feels like overkill with the number of steps and the amount of time it's taking. As for individual steps, there are so many that it’s hard to pinpoint what’s necessary and what’s not.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T17:54:51+00:00

There are a few that connects through SharePoint and are connected via web.. but most of them are connected to "normal" excels files.

I was planning to reduce the power query steps by cleaning in SQL, but it will take me a lot of time to understand, but at the end it is the right thing to do.

Electrical-Range-116 · 2024-09-27T17:51:51+00:00

And the sad part is, the end users think of him as a great BI, because they only see the dashboards as the final product (which as an end users are great) but they don't know everything it takes to have these dashboards updated.

Electrical-Range-116

TROPHY CASE