Mathematics and Statistics
Abbe Whittaker
BSc (Hons) Statistics & Geography (1995)
At the end of my course I applied for all jobs that looked relevant to my skills – I had 3 interviews all with the NHS. I was offered a job at a hospital in East Grinstead and worked there for nearly 4 years, and then moved to my current hospital in 1999.
I currently work as an Information and Performance Manager at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and have been working at the Hospitals NHS trust for 8 years. I manage a team of 6 analysts. We monitor many of the targets that the government sets the NHS, including waiting times for procedures in hospital. I really enjoy my role as I get to work with many different people within the hospital and provide a service that can make a difference.
Prior to my employment I had thought my course, and in particular the statistics side, would be relevant within my role. However I was quick to learn that it didn’t provide actual experience but provided me the aptitude for learning. Although I didn’t undertake in any work experience work whilst studying at the university, I think that this would have been advantageous, even to understand how an office works.
I am currently working part time in the Trust. As I have a young daughter this works well and provides me with a good work-life balance.
Dr Chris John
BSc (Hons) Mathematics (2002)
PhD Computing, Mathematical and Info Sciences (2006)
Chris is currently employed as a Mathematics Teacher at Clapton Girls' Technology College. He has been in this post for 12 months.
My current role involves preparing and delivering lessons in mathematics to secondary school students aged 11-18. What I like most about it is the variety and scope of the role. What I like least is the petty paperwork that accompanies most initiatives. In order to become a teacher I did a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate of Education) at the Institute of Education in London.
The qualifications I gained at the University of Brighton disciplined my thinking and writing and gave me confidence to tackle large complex situations. In the future I plan to travel, developing resources for teaching Mathematics and further on, a return to research in some capacity.
My advice to research graduates would be to do it, and do it well. It will be the best time of your life and will set you up for the future.
Richard Stratton
BSc Modular Science - Maths & Statistics (1995)
I had the opportunity to take an industrial placement year during my degree and at that stage was still unsure what I wanted to do. I got a job with BT's internal consultancy unit and found that the blend of technical work (statistical analysis, simulation models, survey analysis and building Excel business models) and client facing work (in presentations and meetings) was something I was very good at doing and really enjoyed. I stayed in contact with colleagues from BT and one of them approached me about a vacancy in her new company as I was graduating. I applied for the role and was successful. I joined a small (I was the tenth employee) management consultancy that specialised in operational research (also called operations research or OR and a discipline which is increasingly being referred to as business modelling). Ten years later I left to take on the current role I have now.
I am currently a Management Consultant for Avail Consulting. Avail provides consultancy to public sector and public service bodies. This ranges from central government departments and agencies, police forces, NHS trusts, local authorities and further and higher education institutions. All of our work is project based, meaning that there are very clear start and end points to our work and what we are delivering.
Typically our projects run for a couple of months and involve relatively small teams (four in a team is about average), although on occasions we win much larger projects (both in terms of duration and team size). This means that the work I am doing, the people I am working with (both colleagues and clients) and the environment I am working in changes on a regular basis. This is one of the key things that I enjoy about consultancy, I enjoy the continual change.
The other key aspect I enjoy is that, because we only work for public service organisations, I get a tremendous satisfaction in delivering improved services to the public. In my experience this is much more rewarding than consulting to private companies where all you are doing is increasing profits and share holder value.
There are the inevitable down-sides to this job. The hours I work are demanding and I usually work where my clients are based, which can be anywhere in the country, meaning that the job can impact on my personal life and I get used to hotel cooking more than the more typical home comforts. There are also occasions where, because of the nature of the work we are delivering, I never get to see my ideas and solutions being implemented within an organisation. You know that in certain circumstances any changes we suggest are not going to be performed well and that the full potential of the savings or improvements we've identified are not going to be realised. This can be a really frustrating and demoralising result.
My course studied at the University of Brighton was based on traditionally theoretical subject areas (maths and statistics) and I soon came to realise that the methods by which I was being taught were increasingly using applied techniques and were being delivered in a vocational manner. This meant that when I was placed into a business situation I was able to adapt what I had learnt and apply it to the current context very quickly. Without the benefit of this background it is unlikely that I would be in the position I am today. However, the defining point of my time at university was, thanks to the ties made by the faculty to industry, a range of excellent industrial placements were available for us to apply to. If I hadn't had the chance to see what a management consultant does (even one who works for an internal department, which is slightly different to an independent consultancy) then it is unlikely I would have discovered that I have the necessary skills to do the role nor understood how much I enjoy working in this environment.
There may come a time in my career when the amount of time I am away from home, the antisocial hours and the train journeys outweigh the pleasure I get from the constant challenge, change and and satisfaction I get from improving public services. When that time comes I will look to return to in-house consultancy and take on the management of an internal business modelling team, either in a government department or a private company.
However, I hope that time is still some way off. I currently aspire to move up through the ranks of Avail, continue working for a range of clients (ideally in a project management role as opposed to project delivery role) and to take on the leadership of some of our internal teams.