Joining CJC, and the capital markets industry more broadly, has been a huge learning curve for me, in the best possible way. Coming in, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but now, one month in, I have already been exposed to live financial systems, enterprise tooling, and client workflows.

Most importantly, I’ve started to get to grips with something that underpins everything CJC does: Market Data.

What is Market Data?

After completing my cybersecurity training, one of the first presentations I attended was about explaining Market Data. Since it’s such a fundamental part of CJC’s identity, it was critical to break down the subject and make it feel accessible and relevant, especially for those new to the industry.

Rather than dive straight into the technical details, the presentation focused on understanding data as a concept – how we use it in everyday decisions and how we react to information constantly. From coin tosses to coffee prices, train delays to wearable health trackers, the presentation helped draw real-world parallels to how data flows in the capital markets.

What I learnt was that market data isn’t just numbers on a screen – it’s information that moves the world. That connection made it much easier to see why CJC’s role in managing, distributing, and administering this data is so important.

Building Apps with Retool

One of the main parts of my first month at CJC was learning and using Retool, a low-code platform used to build internal and client-facing tools. As someone new to enterprise environments, being trusted to work with Retool so early gave me a big confidence boost.

Through Retool, I’ve explored how data is structured and visualised, and I’ve started contributing to internal tools that help the Commercial Management team stay on top of usage, entitlements, and reporting.

Retool helps to make complex systems more approachable. For someone just starting, it’s been a key part of my development.

Working With The Commercial Management Team 

Alongside Retool, I’ve been learning more practically, thanks to the team, CJC’s client-facing experts who help major financial firms make sense of their market data environments. The team has been outstanding working with me, and I feel like I’ve been accepted wholeheartedly. I’ve also been collaborating with the development team, who are equally as brilliant, to strengthen ties between the teams and assist in app development discussions.

By observing their work, I’ve seen how the Commercial Management team combines technical insight with commercial and compliance knowledge to help clients understand their market data usage, ensure compliance with exchange policies and licensing rules, and respond quickly to usage issues and audit queries.

It’s shown me how critical it is to understand both the infrastructure and the end users and how CJC bridges that gap.

Reflections After One Month

At the end of my first month, I presented back to my line manager to reflect on progress and contribute feedback to help improve CJC’s work experience programme. That process, sharing insights while measuring development, has been an important milestone for me.

Looking back, what stands out most is how quickly you can start contributing when you’re supported and encouraged. At CJC, I’ve been given the space to learn, the tools to build with, and the mentorship to keep moving forward.

Whether it’s understanding client workflows, manipulating databases with SQL, or sorting Excel sheets, every day at CJC builds on the last.

I’m just getting started, but I’m genuinely excited for what’s ahead.