Chris – Graduate Consultant
I first came across Detica at the University
of Southampton. In my Masters year of
Software Engineering I toured the careers
fairs for something different. I'd been to the
presentations from the big IT corporations
and consultancies, but didn't fancy being
another small graduate in their 1000's of staff.
Detica was offering that something different.
Detica is smaller, but its range of clients and
products is large. I was most attracted to
Detica and its involvement in production of
hardware as well as software and its focus on
information intelligence.
I chose a position based on its location in the
country and the need for skills that I had.
It was just a matter of days from submitting
my CV that I had a call back. The following
week I had a telephone interview. A fortnight
later, I was invited to visit the Detica offices
to be interviewed by people doing the kind of
job that I wanted. I had the opportunity to
present some of my best work from university
and to ask them about life at Detica.
I enjoyed it.
I had two main concerns with a career in IT:
firstly, I didn't want to end up sat at the same
desk for the rest of my working life coding;
secondly, to progress through a company,
I didn't want to end up as a manager with no
more involvement in the technical work
I enjoy. What made me accept a job with
Detica was the immediate quashing of these
fears. At Detica I can move between projects,
business areas and job roles to apply more
skills than just coding. I go to client sites and
have the opportunity to meet the real users of
my work. Senior staff here still have a strong
involvement in the technical work. I sit next
to my manager and he gets stuck in with the
same things that I do.
I've been a Consultant at Detica almost
6 months now. I came straight into a project
where all my software engineering skills were
needed. I'm in a small team, so my work gets
noticed and really makes a difference. After
just a few months, I had the opportunity to
give a presentation to the main client on my
project. I've been given responsibilities for
guiding my colleagues and for making
development decisions. I've met many
intelligent people, from new graduates all the
way to the top; on my second day of induction
training I sat next to the Chief Executive
at dinner.
My first Detica project is coming to an end
and I have the choice of what to do next.
I have the opportunity to find a project to
work on that I'm interested in and to have a
say in what responsibilities I'd like to have
next. I already feel like I'm moving up in the
company, and may very well have the chance
to manage a new graduate in my next role.
Detica is a fast-moving, personable place to
be, where the prospect of making yourself
valued is there for the taking. Coming here,
I really feel I've landed on my feet.
Is everything working ok on this page? Do you have a question or a comment?
PDF downloads:
Login to TopEmployers 