When I was at school, I wanted to be a doctor, specifically a surgeon. However, a change in schools meant I needed to change my A-levels, which led me to Mechanical Engineering. I also loved this as it provided me with analytical and problem-solving skills. From a young age I was always interested in the details and would focus for ages on a task until I solved it completely
After graduating, I worked in consultancy as a senior subsea engineer solving challenging problems with data in the Oil and Gas industry. I then decided to follow my love for data and analytics by doing an MSc in Data Science and have worked as a Data Scientist ever since. I have done this role in the private sector and now the public sector. I have been in the Home Office on a short-term basis on a few occasions, as well as working in retail and financial services, but have now been here permanently for 7 months.
In my current role I lead a team of data scientists working on a product to support immigration intelligence. We work together following the agile methodology, so we start with a daily stand-up where the whole team will describe briefly what they are working on and a general description of any blockers they encounter. From this I get a general overview of the work that is being developed for the day which allows me to oversee whether we are achieving our goals or fulfilling our customer requirements. My team and I will work solving challenging problems with data and we will have discussions along the way to ensure we deliver the best solutions as possible.
What I enjoy most about the role is the great collaboration between the teams. People are always willing to share their knowledge and support each other to reach a common goal. I also love solving social problems with data, and the Home Office is a place where I can do what I love and still have a great work life balance
The Home Office is a great place to work and one where you will find great minds to work together solving social problems. There is also a vast amount of data to learn from as well as countless development opportunities and the freedom to take your career in any direction you want.
