| Personal details |
|---|
| Degree: | BSc Internet Computer Science |
|
| School(s): | School of Computer Science |
| Year of Graduation: | Jun-2012 |
| LinkedIn: | |
| National of: | United Kingdom |
| Employment details |
|---|
| Organisation: | FreeAgent, Edinburgh |
| Job title: | Junior Support Engineer |
| Occupational Sector: | IT/Computer Programming |
| What has been your route to getting your current position? |
|---|
- GCSE
ICT
- A-Level
Computing (Grade A)
- Internet
Computer Science Degree (First Class),
- 3
Months Work Experience, Jordan Media Ltd (Edinburgh), Summer 2011
|
| What does your job involve ? |
|---|
My
job involves co-ordination with clients and client-facing staff to identify and
resolve software bugs in FreeAgent systems. Bug resolution may involve the
writing of a patch, modification of the code-base or communication with the
end-user to resolve the issue.
A
support engineer may be regarded as an interface between non-technical users
and professional software engineers. |
| What are the best bits of your job ? |
|---|
The
workload of a support engineer varies drastically allowing me to gain
experience in a range of technologies in a short space of time. I am able to
gain a strong overview of the entire product without having to focus too much
on a single area. Also, I value the opportunity to interact with end-users,
taking pride in the level of support and customer-service that I am able to
provide.
Working
alongside staff who are experts in their field offers great opportunity to
learn and augments the foundational knowledge taken from my degree.
It
is hugely rewarding to contribute to a product that is used and enjoyed by
thousands of people, rather than working on a piece of coursework that will
never be seen by the outside world. |
| Why were you successful? |
|---|
I
believe my academic achievements ticked the boxes that allowed me to reach the
interview stage of application. My three months work experience gave me plenty
of real-world material that could be drawn upon throughout the interview
process. Finally, I believe my involvement in extra-curricular activities such
as singing in the Gospel Choir and volunteering within Student Services helped
to demonstrate I have skills out-with the technical domain; I am a
people-person, also. |
| What skills/ knowledge from your degree have you found particularly helpful in this role? |
|---|
Since
FreeAgent offer a web-based product, my modules in Internet Programming (CS1004,
CS2003) and databases (CS3101) have proven invaluable. Whilst somewhat mundane
at the time, modules that teach the fundamental skills of Software Engineering
(CS3051) and modules that allow you to put these skills in to practice such as
the JH and SH projects (CS3099,CS4099) are essential in the transition from
academia to industry. |
| What advice would you give to students wishing to follow the same path? |
|---|
My
advice would be to play to your strengths. Computer Science is such a diverse
field and nobody can be good at it all. Take the modules that interest you and
those that you feel you can perform well in. Also, use your free time to
experiment with the technologies you enjoy – setup servers, design websites,
build computers – It all shows willing above and beyond compulsory coursework
and it’s amazing what one can learn without realising it.
Computer Science is a
demanding and time-consuming discipline though; it’s important to take some
time to do something completely different. Again, anything that makes you stand
out from the crowd will almost certainly strengthen your case for employment. |
