Partner at a specialist technology consultancy called Underscore
"It's an incredibly rewarding job. I enjoy the freedom and responsibility and also the variety. My technical skills are very important, but there is so much more to what I do."
PhD Computer Science (2010)
Please provide a short paragraph detailing how your career has developed since graduating from the University of Birmingham?
Following my PhD Computer Science I formed a small software development company with fellow graduate Dave Gurnell. We ran a smaller consultancy company called Untyped for several years. We started using Scala and realised there was a growing demand for services around Scala so we teamed up with several other smaller consultancies to form Underscore.
What is the best thing about the job you are doing now?
It's an incredibly rewarding job. I enjoy the freedom and responsibility and also the variety. My technical skills are very important, but there is so much more to what I do. The marketing and business side is something I have become more interested in as I get deeper into it.
What did you think were the best points of your course at the University?
A PhD is often considered training for a research career, but I have found it excellent training for business. A PhD is about much more than research; it's no good doing research if nobody hears about it, so writing and presentation skills are a huge part of what a PhD student learns. These skills have proved very important for the marketing aspects of our consultancy.
How did you grow as a person by studying at the University? Did it change your life in any way?
I learned a lot about what I wanted to do in life. If I hadn't gone to Birmingham I might never have started the business I am involved in.