Jermaine Marshall

I highly recommend Exponent to anyone who's curious about working in consulting and on a variety of projects that will keep you entertained, busy, and continually challenged as you progress in your career.

Constant Growth and Learning

When I first came to Exponent, I didn't really know what to expect. Considering it was during the pandemic, it was a very confusing time to say the least. But I got to meet a lot of friendly people and work on a lot of challenging problems that I may not have had a chance to work on elsewhere. I also found the work-life balance that I've been searching for.

I started off with a kind of mentor. You could say we have "buddies" when we first start working at Exponent who serve as guides as you get accustomed to the company. We also have great managers — I've had two — who have helped me navigate my career path throughout the company. 

I knew at Exponent, I could continue to grow, continue to learn, and expand my knowledge in different areas as well as work with domain experts outside of data science.

No Two Projects Are Alike 

One of the main things that I've really enjoyed about Exponent is the variety of work I can do. I interned at several tech companies during my Ph.D. program at Notre Dame, but it wasn't the same. Usually, I was working on one or two data sets, depending on the company, and I knew that I would probably be stuck working with similar data for my entire tenure if I worked full time there.

The reason I chose Exponent was because of the variety of projects I would be able to work on. One day I could be working on a biology-based data science model with other biologists who have expertise there. Or I could work on a psychological problem regarding data and statistics while working with someone who also has domain expertise in that space. 

The different types of work you can play with varies, and I think that helps expand your skill sets greatly compared to other companies.

Our Achievements Impact the World

Once I worked with a COVID-19-related data set where we were helping a client who was trying to improve false negative rates in rapid virus testing. That was the first time my work felt truly impactful and related to current events. It felt really good to know that I was working on a problem that could help the world. That has been one of my bigger accomplishments to date.

In my daily work advancing science, I'm able to apply things that have been tried and I can test them, research the literature, and apply those findings to related challenges that businesses are having. I enjoy testing things to see what works and what doesn't, and then discussing and solving those challenges with my colleagues.

I'm never bored because I'm constantly learning.

I Can Bring My Whole Self to Work

At Exponent, I've worked with people from a variety of backgrounds, particularly when I was traveling to help clients with their projects. So, I get to meet client coworkers from other offices like New York and Philadelphia, and I've definitely worked with a diverse group of employees while doing so.

I feel like having worked with people from different career, cultural, and racial backgrounds has helped me gain perspective in seeing the bigger picture and viewing things in a different way.

I always feel completely comfortable being myself and talking to my manager and my coworkers about things that may be occurring in the real world.

I'm also in a group at Exponent where we go out for drinks on Friday sometimes. I've also met people who have similar interests. People reached out to me a few times when I started working at Exponent and I met people who have had similar backgrounds. I like Kung Fu, going to movies, and I'm a big foodie. So, knowing people who I can enjoy those things with is really great.