Work and Projects
I have always tried to complement my studies with work experience; at some points it has been necessary as it is hard to support oneself as a student nowadays, but I have always believed that choosing relevant IT work is important for the development of my career. Please see my employment record below:
Royal Navy
For my year in industry, the gap between the second and final year of my BSc from 2005-2006, I worked for the Royal Navy as a civil servant. I developed applications, managed a training network, as well as supporting staff in my department with general IT enquiries. My main project during the year was to develop a statistical analysis tool for the input, analysis and evaluation of Naval training questionnaires. I created a VBA application, using Microsoft Access 2003 and SQL, which allowed surveys of any format to be entered. Given a large number of responses the application could output quantitative statistics in the form of spreadsheets and graphs, and allowed officers to drill down to specific areas of Naval training to create qualitative reports that could be presented to their seniors.
This experience has opened up the opportunity for me to contract for the Royal Navy, working for Flagship IT and Serco Assurance in IT roles since.
Paragon Processing Solutions Ltd.
I was approached by Paragon in 2006 to help modernize their site and suggested the implementation of a Content Management System as they have a large range of products from several different suppliers which need updating on a regular basis. This approach would save Paragon and I time, as they could keep their catalog current without conversing with me, and it would also save them money as I would not have to charge them for routine content updates that they should be able to undertake by themselves.
Product descriptions, photographs and brochures can be uploaded and updated from the CMS, without the need to be, or consult with a web designer. This helps staff at the heart of the company to modify the product catalogue, and undoubtedly they know their product range far better than I so this helps them maintain an effective and up-to-date site.
The CMS was developed in PHP, supported by a MySQL database. Visit Paragon's site at www.paragonpsl.com
University of Portsmouth
Throughout my time at University I have worked in many departments, doing sometimes fulfilling and rewarding jobs. My main role was working as a Student Guide for my department, the School of Computing, showing prospective students and their guests around the University and the city of Portsmouth. The coach tours, walking tours and tours of the halls of residence, together with taking presentations and the occasional discussion session improved my confidence speaking in public to often very inquisitive guests!
I also worked on the clearing telephone lines for two years, helping those that decided to come to University late to choose a course and give them information about the Universtiy and city so they could make an informed decision. Additionally I have helped with enrolment of new students, recruitment fairs and on graduation ceremonies, completing the full cycle of student jobs for the University!
