My Early Career

I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

Diane Ackerman

I’m often asked for advice from people exploring their career options and I always give them the same response that they should explore a variety of consultancy roles, something which helped my own career progression and personal development.

My forays into the world of consultancy began tentatively – providing technology consultancy to small firms, and technology and software consultancy to a number of Oil and Gas companies. From there I moved on to a larger management consultancy role for multinational firms.

For me, one of the most surprising, and rewarding, parts of these roles was my chance to

work in a demanding and driven environment. I was working alongside people with tremendous academic credentials in science and engineering, learning as much as I did when I was studying. I expanded my knowledge and understanding across a number of areas, including crude oil, geology, medical devices, and fibre optics.

The most illuminating aspect of it all was discovering just how much I enjoyed my work with the clients – having to approach their unique problems and find the right solutions for them, usually working against time constraints in a high-pressure environment. It was demanding, intellectually stimulating, and each new day and role threw up different obstacles and challenges. Truly, it was work I relished doing.

More than that, it provided me with new skills and tools that could only have been developed in a high-pressure business environment. Upon reflection, it’s these skills that have played a key role in my present and continued success. Skills that I transferred into the world of education, helping me to ascend to new heights in the demanding and rewarding field of education consultancy.

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