Consultant Profiles

Steve, Principal Consultant MEng Electronic Engineering, University of Southampton "It was a single word that attracted me to Customer Systems – ‘responsibility’. I didn’t want to sit around making tea for weeks. I wanted to get straight on and start working and that’s exactly what I did. The training is rigorous. You have to be able to work independently and I didn’t want to be asking questions every ten minutes. It really gives you the motivation to find things out and persevere, but I haven’t met a single person at Customer Systems who doesn’t want to help. It wasn’t even 6 weeks before I was given my first real business project. It was nerve-wracking when I first walked in there, but soon I was really comfortable because I knew that technically I was up to it. I did another project, alone, in Seattle for 7 weeks. Suddenly you realise that you are an expert and the client showers you with questions. The travel is amazing, but the best thing about Customer Systems is the variety. One minute you can be in the depths of a technical problem, and the next in a high-level meeting with a business client to discuss their overall requirements. And then, of course, a week later you find yourself at a completely different company working on a different problem altogether. The variety of clients means I’ve been involved with industries and learned about issues I never would have encountered have in a plain IT or programming job."

Nitin, Senior Consultant MSc Communications Networks and Software, University of Surrey "Customer Systems is a great place for graduates. If you are willing and show that you have the drive for more, you will be provided with the opportunity to grow. When comparing my work at Customer Systems with what my friends are doing in other consultancy organisations, it is clear that I have worked more consistently, and have had the opportunity to work across more areas and market sectors. The range of my clients has varied across private insurance, public healthcare and consumer goods. Undoubtedly, the experience is different at each client. I’ve worked in a small team, with just one other consultant on site, and I’ve worked in a team of eight. I have had to adapt the knowledge I gained in training to each customer’s requirements, to meet the needs of their application and get the desired results. All my assignments, even the relatively short ones, have been different and with each I have learned more and seen myself grow as a consultant. I’m very satisfied with what I’m doing, and enjoy the high level of responsibility and interaction with clients. In the longer term, I would like to move up to the role of Managing Consultant and take on more project management and planning ."