Where are you currently working/volunteering, and what are you doing?
I have been working as a software analyst/developer for M&G Investments, a leading asset management firm in the city, for just over a year now. Our team works closely with various business units within the company to develop robust and supportable software solutions in short time frames through technologies such as VBA Excel/Access, Sharepoint and C#/.NET.
What volunteering were you involved with whilst you were at UCL?
Whilst at UCL I was involved with two projects with the VSU; the first was at a respite centre for the suicidal called Maytree in North London that required a data entry analyst/DB admin for an Access database used to store details of the people and organisation. I worked here on a part time basis for two months where I was able to consolidate all information from various sources to their centralised Access database as well as help them use advanced features of Access they weren't familiar with.
The second project was at an organisation close to UCL called Fitzrovia Youth In Action whose aim was to organise activities and projects for young people in the borough of Camden in order to improve relationships between people of different races and ages and benefit the community. They had a small office local network setup which was split between two rooms but not all computers were able to connect to the Internet or even share files. This involved rewiring and reconfiguring workstations on a part time basis over the period of a few months.
What useful skills and experiences did you gain as a volunteer when you were at UCL?
Technically I improved my data entry skills and Access database knowledge through a real life environment as well as my ability to elicit requirements from a user which I wasn't able to obtain through high school or university lectures/projects.
How has volunteering helped you in your career so far?
Requirements gathering is a vital part of my job and a crucial stage of the software development lifecycle - misunderstanding what a user needs could prove to be expensive to correct once a software solution is in place. Whilst we learn about techniques for successful requirements gathering at university, a lot of it comes down to practical experience which I was able to get through the volunteering placement at VSU.
What would you say to UCL students considering whether or not to volunteer?
A classic situation for a student is often the catch-22 predicament: an employer requires somebody with experience to get a job but in order to get experience you need to get a job. Volunteering offers an alternative, a means to get a variety of relevant experiences dependent on your career orientation usually at a pace that suits you. When applying to jobs or graduate schemes after university having a volunteering placement related to the sort of work you plan to do is invaluable, will give you something to talk about at an interview and set you apart from others.
Volunteering is not only a great way to accumulate work experience but is rewarding knowing you are giving something back to the community through the skills you have picked up throughout the years. Thanks VSU!