Anyone here working on a Data Science team @ Aetna? I'm currently interviewing and would like some more detail beyond what the recruiters/interviewers have shared. The role I'm interviewing for is in the Digital space (Consumer Tech Analytics team), which involves partnering with product teams @Aetna. Some major themes I'm looking for: 1. Nature of work - is it geared more towards ML/model building vs Analytics vs Experimentation (A/B testing) 2. Team/manager backgrounds - have heard that managers/leaders at Aetna usually have a consulting background, can someone verify that. Peer learning is important to me, so want to know if team members/managers have a technical/DS background 3. Company culture - it's healthcare so obv won't be super new-age but are leaders/business teams willing to try new things vs sticking to older ways of thinking/doing things. Are employees encouraged to learn/upskill themselves 4. Benefits - heard a LOT about how the employee insurance plans suck (super ironic). Anyone willing to share more? 5. WLB - expectations around working evenings/weekends. Long term projects (room to learn and pace yourself) vs short term projects (putting out weekly fires by doing some ad-hoc analysis) I've been applying to FAANG roles as well, but not getting any call backs. Not sure if I should wait for "the perfect role" and so considering non-FAANG as well. I know I can get some of these answers by asking the HM/team members, but want to know the inside scoop. Happy to talk offline as well, let me know :) TC: 135K YOE: 7 #Aetna #cvs #healthcare #datascience #datascientist #companyreviews #companyculture
It'll be a consultant culture, mostly analytics IMO and not much ML. Don't expect to write code and build products. WLB has taken a hit for senior scientists. If you want a technical growth driven experience, look elsewhere. If you want a different domain experience for a few years, while doing mostly analytics, consider it.
Is this for Analytics Consultants or Data Scientists also? I know these are two separate roles at Aetna/CVS, so wanted to check. Not writing code as a Data Scientist sounded a bit strange lol so wanted to confirm
Data scientists do write some exploratory code. What I mean is that don't expect a tech company style coding vibes with code reviews etc., you won't be developing products.
There are different internal departments , one of them A&BC where I closely work with them
Got it. What's the full name of the department? Just trying to understand if it's the same team I'm interviewing with
No idea , starts with analytical
Analytics and behavior change
It’s a good place to work. Lots of new hires so a too heavy investment in DS. Good work culture and decent promotions.
Thank you for sharing. Any reviews on the Consumer Tech Analytics team? Is that part of the Analytics and Behavior Change organization?
Anything above director level generally has limited technical experience and very heavy McKinsey/consulting background. My experience is in A&BC which is supposed to be the more advanced group, not sure that's the case in practice. You will create reports that identify opportunities that end up going nowhere because the culture is driven by management consultants who identify problems/opportunities but are never actually interested in implementation. Health insurance benefits are average because there's a lot of older employees and families which makes the average employee more expensive relative to smaller/startup plans. Pay is generally above average though so on balance it's good total compensation.
Great, thank you for sharing! Any idea if Consumer Tech Analytics team is also part of Analytics and Behavior Change?
I'm not at Aetna anymore but I didn't hear about it when I was. Maybe someone else knows
I am sure ML is limited across the org as I work for digital teams ,
If you are interested in building models (literally any sort), DO NOT JOIN AETNA/CVS HEALTH. THEY'LL LEGIT LIE TO YOUR FACE WHEN YOU ARE INTERVIEWING AND THEN MAKE YOU DO SQL
I mean that's most data science jobs. The model building is a small slice of the work.
Don’t you have to use SQL everywhere??? I mean, you’ve got to get your data together. Plus, there’s a lot of important thinking that needs to be done before modeling (study design, cohort building, etc). None of this is “mindless” SQL work. They are critical steps in good research/analytics.
Don’t expect lot innovative If you interviewed for A&BC org work will be above average Above avg WLB
Thank you for sharing. What's the A&BC org that you mentioned?
How is growth ? Promotions and all