Article | International working makes dream job for Kalia

A data scientist says Optum's (formerly EMIS’s) working abroad scheme has enabled her to follow her dream career.

Kalia Michael, 32, originally hails from Nicosia in Cyprus, but moved to the UK to study and pursue her career as a data scientist.

Now her role with Optum – one of the UK’s largest health tech providers - has provided her with an added benefit – she can go ‘home’ for four weeks a year without having to take a holiday.

Kalia, who lives in London, said: “Cyprus is relatively small compared to the UK, so there weren’t as many career opportunities for me there. I was passionate about working in health and research so it made sense to move away. It didn’t feel like a sacrifice because I was doing what I loved, but it is difficult being so far from my family and friends.

The working abroad scheme with EMIS [now Optum] has been fantastic. Even though Cyprus is easy to get to, it’s not cheap, and still a 4.5-hour flight, so it’s not realistic to go for a long weekend. Having the option to fly out using the working abroad scheme means I have more flexibility to get a good deal and make the most of my time while I’m there.

Kalia, who has worked on the analytics team for two years, added: “It’s also nice that I don’t have to take off long periods of time away from work. My job is based around a lot of project work such as the ongoing EMIS-X Analytics Pathway pilot programme to identify patients at risk of Hepatitis C using an algorithm, so I can potentially miss a lot if I take extended leave at the wrong time.”

Kalia studied maths at university in Southampton in 2009 before completing a Masters in Biomedical Engineering in London. She has worked in research at the Institute of Population Health at St Barts Medical School for five years and then spent a year at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

She joined the business in 2021 to pursue her interest in analytics and AI.

She said: “My first job relied on EMIS [now Optum] data so I have been aware of it for a long time. I decided I wanted to do more work on the data side so it made sense that I’d go to EMIS [now Optum] itself. I asked about the possibility of working abroad as soon as I was given the job and it was great to hear it was something they already offered.”

Kalia, who has been able to enjoy Christmas and summer with her family in Cyprus thanks to the scheme, added:

I like that I can spend time with my parents and friends in their everyday life, doing the things we used to when I lived there, rather than trying to squash everything into a single week or few days. It’s much more natural. If I am going for a week or a long weekend there is more pressure to fit more things in.

She added: “The only things that takes a bit of getting used to is the time difference – I work 11am – 7.30pm in Cyprus but that works out quite well as I can do things in the morning before it gets too hot during the day and I’m not a morning person! People tend to go out later too, so my hours don’t really affect my social life.”

Kalia plans to next take advantage of the scheme this September for a friend’s wedding and to visit friends in different European countries.

She added: “It’s great to be able to go home but I do have friends across Europe who I’d love to go and spend some time with. It will have all the same benefits, I can choose more flexible flights, spend longer in an area than trying to fit it into one week or a long weekend.

“It sounds like it would be complicated to work abroad. In reality it’s not that different, you sit at a desk and do your work, you just have different places and different people to hang out with.”