Meet our statistician, Jia Ling, and get an insider peek into her job in the Communications and Engagement Division.

How would you describe the culture at DOS?

Nurturing and harmonious! There are various development opportunities for officers to gain exposure in different statistical domains or areas of work. I had the opportunity to participate and contribute to regional statistical work, interacting with colleagues in the ASEAN region and gaining a better appreciation of their statistical practices.

My colleagues are approachable and my job allows me to develop statistical skills in many areas. I am involved in various work processes across the data value chain, from analysing data trends, laying out data dissemination plans to developing interactive dashboards and guiding new colleagues to assimilate into their job role, etc.

Any advice to fresh graduates considering a career in statistics?

You would need to have an affinity with numbers and be comfortable working with data!

Meet our statistician, Athallah, and get an insider peek into her job in the Business Statistics Division.

What are the daily challenges you face and how do you overcome them?

In my daily work, there may be some repetitive or time-consuming tasks. I continuously explore ways to improve operational efficiency and streamline my work processes by removing redundant steps or by applying data science techniques such as machine learning!

Share with us your most memorable moment that happened in DOS.

Attending the 6th Working Group on Statistics of International Trade in Services meeting in Brunei Darussalam in 2019. It was an exciting opportunity to meet and interact with statistical officers from other National Statistical Offices in the region and learn about their experiences, challenges and best practices in their work.

Meet our statistician, Arthur, and get an insider peek into his job in the Household, Income and Population Division.

How did the flexibility at work benefited you and your personal life?

I like the hybrid mobile work arrangement where DOS adopts a ‘two-day telecommuting approach’ and flexible dress code. I get to enjoy the physical interactions with my teammates on days where I am in office and getting some extra boost in sleep time when I work from home. The balanced way of hybrid working has ensured that I maintained a shared sense of purpose and empowerment to fulfil my role in DOS. In addition, I am delighted that DOS continues to keep a lookout for industry’s best working practices/staff feedbacks and has implemented other initiatives such as “Meeting-Free Afternoon” which allows me to focus on intensive work without interruptions, “Eat with your family day” which gives me the privilege to end work earlier on identified day(s) to spend more time with my loved ones.

Share with us your most memorable moment that happened in DOS.

I had the opportunity to be part of the Prices’ team and was involved in the rebasing of Consumer Price Index (CPI). With the increased volume of tasks on top of the regular work, we had to manage our time effectively. Individuals had to work independently and what motivated me to push on was we were a united team with common goals in mind. It was nonetheless tiring to be stretched beyond regular hours but I recognise that this period was an exception due to the rebasing exercise, and it is an enriching and purposeful experience, akin to the rich bitter sweet taste of “Mao Shan Wang” durian.