Snowplow Spotlight Cara Baestlein

Sales and Implementation Engineering Lead based in Berlin, Germany

What do you do at Snowplow?

As part of Snowplow’s Professional Services team, I get to help clients around the world design and implement their data collection, as well as use the data most effectively to answer the questions that make the difference to their business.

Why did you decide to go into data analytics?

Studying economics at university, what I enjoyed most was putting the theories I was learning to the test. In economics, though, you mostly have to rely on data sets prepared by others, with large lags and imperfect assumptions, whereas in the digital analytics world rich datasets can easily be collected in real time. This allows you to perform more interesting analysis, and generate valuable insights for companies.

What’s your favourite thing about your job?

Its really cool to see the wide variety of use cases for Snowplow data, and meet companies across many different industries that want to take control of their analytics and customise it around their business’ needs. Even more so as we get to help them along the way!

What do you find the most challenging?

Definitely learning new technologies and programming languages – although this is probably also one of things I appreciate the most about my job.

What was the first job you ever wanted to have?

When I was a child, I wanted to be a pilot. I liked the idea of flying around the world, exploring new places and meeting people from different cultures.

What steps do you think the industry can take to become more inclusive?

Visibility of opportunity is key. I think there is an incredibly diverse and interesting set of career paths available in the industry. But because it’s all quite new and the stereotype of the geeky developer persists, young men and women in schools and universities aren’t always aware of these opportunities. I also think we can all do our part in improving this by speaking out about what we do and why we love it.

What advice would you give to women considering a career path similar to your own?

Find out what you are really passionate about, what you would be happy spending every day doing, as opposed to a job that you like the idea of more than the actual day-to-day work. And keep an open mind about what your ideal job might look like, whether it be what industry you will work in, what location, or what size of company. You might surprise yourself and end up enjoying a job you never set out to get.

How do you find working remotely?

Working remotely was not something I had considered before, but I love the flexibility! All the chat and video calling tools available today make it easy to connect with your team wherever you work, and at our Away Weeks we all get to meet in person!

What do you like to spend time doing when you’re not at work?

After university, I spent a year travelling in Asia and trained as a yoga teacher in India. Now I teach weekly classes in Berlin, as well as enjoying the city’s amazing art and music scene.

What are 3 things still left on your bucket list?

They would have to be travel destinations: Japan, Mexico and Peru!