Case studies: Project management office analyst: Joy Manuel

After completing her degree in information systems, Joy went on to secure a position with Cisco Systems, where she works on a variety of projects...

As part of my degree I undertook a placement as a business analyst with IBM, which provided me with a valuable broad understanding of the sector.

During my final year at university and for a year after my graduation, I worked on a freelance basis as a web designer. After a year, I decided that I wanted to pursue a full-time role that complimented my skills and, after applying for several analyst roles, I secured a position at Cisco Systems.

I was eager to stay within the IT industry after university as it aligned well with my educational background and ongoing interest in technology. My job requires someone with strong analytical skills who is comfortable using a number of software packages and has a good understanding of the software lifecycle and more general IT processes. These are all areas that I learnt about during my degree.

I enjoy many aspects of the role, particularly the variety of projects I am able to contribute to. For example, I am involved in the financial and portfolio management of the department's budget, and I am a community manager for a number of internal online communities, which has utilised my HTML and CMS experience. I am also the metrics lead for my team, involving structuring processes and producing reports for all departmental services and applications.

The soft skills developed during my time at university have also been important to the role, particularly my time management skills and ability to work to deadlines. I also work with the company internship team to recruit new graduates, which allows me to use my team-working and mentoring skills.

At a technical level, the experience I gained at university in IT processes and lifecycles, requirements engineering and human-computer interaction have been essential for a number of projects I have worked on.

The most challenging, yet most exciting part of my job, is leading a project from initiation to completion. This gives me the chance to utilise my creativity and demonstrate my skill-set.

Information systems graduates have the skills to enter a number of varied roles within, but not limited to, the IT industry. The sector is continually growing and evolving, which also brings new opportunities for professional development throughout your career. It is also not only for individuals who have strong technical skills, but also for those that are more business-minded with an interest in technology. These individuals could venture into non-technical roles within IT, such as project management or business analysis.

AGCAS

Sourced by Alex Elkins, City University

Date: 

December 2011

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