After completing graduate school in 2014, UNI alumnus Nathan Klyn (Economics ‘13) knew his background qualified him to analyze data for a company – he just didn’t know exactly what industry suited him best. The Iowa native moved closer to home in Chicago, and he connected with some contacts who worked in digital advertising, an industry that heavily leverages data analysts.

“I figured I could get a job, get my foot in the door, and go from there,” Klyn said.

That decision set his career journey on a path he didn’t expect. He started as an associate analyst, and over the next decade paved his way through different principal and managerial roles. Today Klyn lives in Denver with his family and works as a director for decisions sciences at Epsilon, a global advertising and marketing technology company.

His primary role is understanding how regulatory and industry ecosystem changes affect the company, its products and finances. For example, a major change in data privacy regulation, or updates to popular web browsers that may impact client websites.

His most recent project has been tracking how major changes to the popular Google Chrome browser – expected in 2024 – will affect Epsilon. He meets with the company’s c-suite executives once a quarter to provide updates about the change and its impact on client campaigns and the health of the business.

Another one of his favorite projects was traveling to India several years ago to train colleagues and catch them up to speed on operations in the United States.

Klyn said what helped him launch his career was having a solid foundation from the Wilson College of Business. When he interviews for job openings, he finds it important that candidates have a holistic understanding of business. UNI provides that through its comprehensive core curriculum and Professional Readiness Program.

“I think UNI does an excellent job of its business core classes,” Klyn said. “That sets UNI students apart. There are a lot of business graduates out there that I interview and hire that have a good understanding of analysis and how things affect one another, but they really lack how the data affects the business from a financial point of view and holistically.”

Klyn said business degrees can be the foundation for many different types of careers. He never expected to work in digital advertising, but with a UNI degree in hand, he was able to find a job he loved and has made a successful career out of it.

“A business degree sets you on a path where there isn’t just one path,” Klyn said. “It can open doors anywhere. And the things you learn in business school apply to any organization. I’ve worked with folks who attended some of the top business universities in the country, and I would put UNI’s business degree up with any of them any day.”