Our MA Profiles

Rebecca Dobson – Systems Development

I joined the programme in 2002 after my GCSEs. I found out about it though the local careers service, where I’d been looking at several IT and electronics courses. EDS stood out, partly because they offered more money and partly because it was closer to home.

Initially I was working on a mapping project on the Prison Service account – getting software applications onto the core infrastructure and keeping databases up to date. Now I’m testing the systems applications we’ve developed for the Prison Service within EDS. I especially enjoy having the chance to interact with customers – implementing new systems and helping to resolves their queries.

I didn’t realise the course was going to be so technical – fortunately there are plenty of people around you with more experience and technical knowledge who can give you support and advice as you go along. Recently I’ve been learning Java, and that’s something I’d like to use more in the future.

The training courses are great fun because you get a chance to meet all the other people on the MA Programme. I really enjoyed the Outward Bound course – you practice team building and get to be a manager of an exercise so you can develop your organisational skills.

I think working has made me a more independent person. I’ve picked up a huge amount about the IT industry and it’s given me a real feel for what I want to do, rather than being stuck at college and not knowing where I’m going!