After completing a mathematics degree at Salford University, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers for a period in Chartered Accountancy. The grounding in business gave me a platform from which to move into consultancy and I joined the Management Sciences department of PA Consulting Group. The department provides business modelling and analysis capability to global clients in both the public and private sectors.

During my time at PA, I have worked with a wide variety of people from Call Centre representatives to Deputy Governors of Financial markets, across a number of industries and locations.

The projects I have completed include:

• Customer profitability modelling for a large multi-national pension provider. The results of the analysis enabled the provider to realise increased returns on investment and to divert investment to customer related activities.
   
• Financial modelling for a large international markets regulator, helping them to understand market dynamics, liquidity management, key players and settlement issues.

These projects have been performed in locations from South Africa to Hong Kong and, occasionally, back in London! This experience has been invaluable and developed me at a rate I would not have believed on leaving university. I would recommend a career in O.R. to anybody that enjoys constant variety in the work they perform, learning new skills in practical situations, and can apply existing skills to new challenging issues in different environments and industries.