After completing my degree at the University of Portsmouth in Computer Network Management and Design, I went to work at Hitachi Data Systems in their network attached storage (NAS) division. I was involved in the test department for their own ‘HNAS’ product. As it was a lab environment, this gave me a good grounding with the hardware and software of the product and with high speed storage as a whole. Furthermore, the test lab allowed me to use cutting-edge technology. This was a good bridge from university, as the equipment I studied on was not of this calibre or diversity. Though I knew of Diamond for a long time, it was only when an opportunity to work in their systems administration team came along that I applied.
I work in the System Administration Team in the Technical Division at Diamond. The experience I gained at Hitachi has helped as it gave me a good understanding of high speed data storage. As this is the area I have specialised in, this was a definite bonus. The team is quite small, so we get to do a bit of everything, which means any and all experience has helped in some way or another, as the role is quite diverse.
I enjoy the diversity of the role, as well as the constant chance to improve skills and develop professionally. It is a very unique environment to work in, and the issues this presents are often welcome challenges.
Get as much practical experience as possible, as this really opens doors. You do not need to try to be an expert at everything, but a broad range of practical skills and a problem solving methodology does really help.
