Munir ’18 hard at work
Azlan Munir ’18- Analytics, Programming and Computer Science – Last semester, I was looking for an internship where I could apply my data analytics/programming skills in a vibrant business setting. Fortunately, I landed an internship with the Adorant Group where I did just that. The Adorant Group is a Chicago-based company which offers a software-based consumer finance platform which allows users to plan for retirement and other life events. During my time here, I’ve had a chance to work with some great people.Over the summer, I was assigned to work on three main projects. The first project involved predicting a consumer’s average case annual savings. Using data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), I conducted multiple regression analysis to predict an individual’s annual savings. This model is customizable so users can input their specific characteristics (e.g. income, housing, area of residence, number of earners) and have the results designed to their unique situation.
My second project was to predict a consumer’s annual net worth using other types of inputs. My model asks a consumer to input their age, marital status, investments in bonds, stocks, equities etc. and predicts their financial assets, liabilities and net worth. Using econometric techniques, we were able to narrow down an individual’s net worth using just a few inputs.
Finally, I incorporated these predictive models into our web platform using PHP programming language. My background in Java and Python certainly helped me learn and adapt to PHP environment. I was also fortunate to receive guidance from our CTO, an experienced software engineer himself. Other than the three main projects, I was also involved in UX testing of our platform and compared our platform’s mathematical models to our competitors. My work was crucial in providing a comprehensive financial picture to current and potential users of our platform.
Overall, this internship has been an excellent learning experience for me. I was exposed to multiple facets of consumer finance where I applied skills learned in and out of the classroom and learned new skills. The best part was working under a highly accomplished team, most with decades of experience under their belt. During this time, I also got a chance to experience Chicago city to the fullest which was refreshing in itself. I would like to thank the Career Services and the Small Business Internship Fund for this incredible experience.