Agnieszka Majzel

I’m in a role I love and feel like I’m stretching my skills

“I’m Agnieszka Majzel and I work in the Risk Hub at ING Hubs Poland. I joined in May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, fully realising the risk I was taking by leaving a full-time job to start somewhere new. I wanted to combine my maths background with my love of programming, plus achieve a better work-life balance. My new role offers it all..

I graduated in mathematics and logistics from Lodz University of Technology, Poland, in 2013, and have a postgraduate degree in statistical analysis and data mining in business from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics.

My role involves collecting and monitoring data, which helps to validate or adjust ING’s risk models. I get to put my maths skills into practice and also learn about credit risk. Although much of the terminology isn’t new to me, this is the first time I’m able to apply what I’ve learnt at university.

The thing I like most about being a data scientist is resolving anomalies that crop up during the data preparation and analysis process. Grasping something that was initially hard to understand, with or without the help of others, is really satisfying.

Taking risks in a pandemic

The decision to switch jobs when I did was not an easy one. Many companies in Poland have been making people redundant and I thought I’d only get a three-month contract elsewhere. But I made the move with the encouragement of a friend and former colleague who now works at ING.

He spoke so highly of the ING, about how it invested in people and their professional development, and encouraged a proper work-life balance. I have a young son and it’s very important to me that I spend time with him after work. I wondered if ING could really be as good as it sounds, but six months into the job and any doubts have been removed. My husband even wants to join ING now!

People really listen

One of the many things that’s impressed me since joining ING is the culture of listening. My opinions are heard which makes me feel like I’m making an impact. Colleagues are open, helpful and ready to share knowledge. I never have a problem finding answers to questions.

We work according to Agile methodologies and have many opportunities to share what we think, both in group meetings and in one-to-ones with line managers. I always feel like my colleagues are listening and that I’m part of a bigger ING team. This has been crucial as I’ve been working at home since I started. In fact, I’ve only been to the office in Warsaw three times. My remote onboarding went well and I settled in quickly.

I’m really happy I joined ING. I’m in a role that I love and feel like I’m stretching my skills, personally and professionally. There’s plenty of encouragement to develop yourself and I’ve already been on an analysing big data course. There’s also some Python programming training coming up.

I’m ready for what lies ahead and look forward to learning even more about credit risk and the business side of ING in the coming months.”