Connor Waterman finishes grad program in half the time
Connor Waterman, a graduate student in the data analytics program, is working 90 hours per week and sleeps fewer than five hours per night. Needless to say, he’s ready to graduate this semester.
There’s a few reasons for Waterman’s packed schedule: he’s working two jobs and he’s finishing his two-year master’s program in half the time.
Waterman finished his undergraduate degrees in economics and finance at Utah State University in 2021. He especially enjoyed studying econometrics, which combines coding and statistics with economics.
He didn’t have a job lined up and knew he was good at school, so he decided to take a look at graduate programs. After speaking to Tyler Brough, an associate professor in the Data Analytics and Information Systems Department, he decided to join data analytics.
“That ended up satisfying a lot of the coding role that I enjoyed and also got some of that economic thinking with the econometrics,” Waterman said. “I’ve been doing that since. It’s been quite a blast.”
While at USU, Waterman has worked as a teaching assistant and as an analytic teaching fellow for an introductory statistics course.
He is also involved with the Center for Analytics Solutions, where students work with companies on analytic projects. Here, Waterman was paired to work with Monumetric, an advertising technology company based in Farmington.
“They ended up liking what I did so much that they hired most of the team,” Waterman said. “So, I’ve also been working that job as well.”
After graduating, Waterman will continue to work at Monumetric, but he eventually wants to move on and work somewhere outside of Utah because he’s lived here his whole life.
“I’m kind of using it as a stepping stone,” Waterman said. “It’s giving a lot of good experience that, especially for someone as young as I am, would kind of set me apart.”
In his limited free time, Waterman enjoys being outside, mountain biking and hammocking.
“I find that when you’re doing this particular job, you’re stuck in front of a computer all the time,” Waterman said. “Getting out into nature is something I really do enjoy trying to do when I can.”
Mariyum Noor, a friend of Waterman’s and a fellow student in the program, said he is the best at balancing school, work and normal life.
“He’s great at literally everything with public speaking, or managing school, or programming, or even swimming, or biking, or cooking or baking,” Noor said. “He’s the best at everything. I do not see a fault in him, and he’s so successful.”
Waterman said his time at USU has taught him how to tolerate deadlines, how to work with others and how to fail.
“Everyone experiences a bad group — some sort of huge disaster of a project or a test or something, and I think those are a fundamental part of the college experience,” Waterman said. “You need to fail a test, right? Because if you never fail a test, then when you actually get to something that actually matters — because tests don’t — and you fail, you’re not going to handle it very well. So failing some of the things now is important so that you can carry that skill and fail later.”
Waterman advised his fellow Aggies to spend the first few years of college enjoying the scenery, the people and the events at USU while classes are easier. He also recommends students explore their interests and broaden their horizons.
“Don’t be afraid of changing your major,” he said. “Interests are fleeting, and if you’re going to be stuck working — as most people are for the rest of your life, it should be something that you at least enjoy a little bit.”
Featured photo by Katera Barlow