A day in the life of a Python developer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
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11 November 2017
This is a sponsored submission from Bank of America Merrill Lynch by Pooja Gulabani
Pooja Gulabani is a Python developer and a project lead in Fixed Income Currencies & Commodities Technology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She lives in North Greenwich, South East London.
I love that technology has brought the world closer. When I first left India it was quite easy to miss my family, but now I have multiple ways of easily keeping in touch with them via video calls and photos. Technology is so creative, and I have been able to come up with many ideas to improve and automate tasks and make my day-to-day work easier.
My day typically starts at 7am, when I put on some music and get ready for work. I don’t have to wear a suit to work, which is great, so I pick whatever is ironed in my wardrobe that is suitable. I grab a skinny latte and breakfast on the way to work. I usually read on my commute, or catch-up with family and friends via social media. I get the tube and am normally in the St Paul’s office by 9.30am. I work in an open plan space and my business partners are located in NYC, Chicago, London and Hyderabad.
I start my day by catching up on emails, and I check to see if there are any production issues that require my attention. I am responsible for a system which takes market data and applies shocks to it. A shock is a scenario that simulates potential changes in the market environment. For example, interest rates suddenly going up by 1% or a big unexpected change in FX rates. When I first joined the firm, it was quite challenging to learn, given the huge code base, data requirements and many different users globally. I was a key contributor for the system from day 1 - with the support of my team of course, still quite daunting but rewarding. Given the importance of this system I’ve been able to interact with people at all levels of the organisation, which has aided my growth tremendously and helped me become more confident. Because of the global nature of my projects, I have had the opportunity to travel to Chicago to work on a project, which was an incredible experience. I have also learnt that the best way to earn respect is to do quality work and be honest.
For lunch I normally step out of the office to grab some food and get some fresh air. I socialise with some colleagues/friends over lunch a couple of times a week. I usually meetings with my U.S. colleagues in the afternoons, to discuss the latest projects and to prioritise tasks. I also spend time writing some Python code or doing some impact analysis and talking to my internal clients on new requirements, specific to the business.
I normally leave the office around 6.30pm. During the summer, I take the Thames Clippers instead of the tube, which is fun and very refreshing. I usually write down some personal thoughts, plan the next day and catch up on news on my commute home. I sometimes go for a run by the Thames and around the O2 after I get back home. I love Italian food, so I may try out a new recipe for dinner, finish some chores and catch-up on some TV to relax. I’m usually in bed by 11pm.
Applications for 2018 technology programmes are now open. Please visit https://campus.bankofamerica.com/ to file an application.
Please see below for application deadlines for each of our programmes:
- Full-Time Analyst Programme – deadline 23 November 2017
- Summer Analyst Programme – deadline 23 November 2017
- Industrial Placement Programme – deadline 23 November 2017
- Spring Programme – deadline 4 January 2018
Thanks so much and we hope to see you soon.