MSBA Student Experience: Interview with Brian Koob

While many students are stepping onto campus for the first time this week, the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program welcomed students back for their second quarter and first full week of fall classes. As the quarter unfolds, MSBA will be talking to students about their Husky Experience to date. First up, MSBA student, Brian Koob. Brian shared a bit about himself, why he chose Foster, and his program experience so far. 

About Brian 

I grew up in Huntington Beach, California and earned my undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo before moving to Seattle in 2008. I currently work at Boeing as a Financial Analyst within software development.  

I have two sons, one is 2 ½ years old and the other is 6 months old, so I spend a lot of time with them. Together, we like to explore the city, ride bikes, and spend time outdoors.  

The Master of Science in Business Analytics Program Experience 

What type of connections have you made or hope to make through MSBA? 

I’ve really enjoyed meeting my group. At the beginning of the quarter we were assigned to groups of six people and we meet about 2-3 times a week to work on assignments. In class, we are often broken up into these same groups. We also meet up outside of class, to do more social things like grab coffee or go kayaking. 

What class are you most excited about?  

I liked Probability and Statistics with Dr. Foad Iravani during the summer quarter. I’ve learned useful techniques and feel like I have more confidence in statistics now. For a lot of the data analysis that we do in this field, we look at statistics to interpret outputs, and I feel better prepared to do that now.  

What is your favorite part of the program so far? 

I am enjoying the variety of what we learn. In the summer quarter we had six classes. In one month, I learned way more than I thought I would. It’s kind of like a boot camp and we will probably be using the tools we learned the first quarter to apply to classes in the fall, winter, and spring, which is very exciting! 

Exploring the Husky Experience 

Describe your busiest day of the week. 

In a typical day, I get up go to work and I’m off at 4:00 pm. I go home and prepare for the rest of the evening. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I meet with my team from 6:00-9:00 pm or 10:00 pm. During that same time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have class. That leaves me with weekends. Fridays, I try to relax, but sometimes have to prep assignments for Saturday’s class. That pretty much sums up my week! 

What advice do you have for someone who is thinking about applying to MSBA’s program? 

I would say just try to get up to speed on anything you can before starting. I recommend using a data camp or website to learn as much about R and SQL before entering because once the program starts, there won’t be much time for that and it will make the transition easier. 

Want to hear about more students like Brian? Sign up for our mailing list to receive periodic updates about our program.   

This post is part of a series where we ask current students to answer questions about their experience as part of the Master of Science in Business Analytics program at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington.