Desmond Whittall

Des graduated from Aber in 2000 with a BEng in Software Engineering and is now working as an analyst for an international investment bank in the United States.

What do you remember most about your time at Aber?

The pub crawls, from the ones on the seaside to the Dublin trip we organized for Comp Soc.  Also having an ISDN line at our student house and how fast we thought it was back then...

What are you doing now career-wise and how has your Aberystwyth degree helped?

I am working for UBS managing offshoring and outsourcing contracts for Group Technology.  In eleven years with UBS I've done five different jobs and lived in London and Stamford, Connecticut while having the opportunity to travel to and work in Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore and India.

What advice would you have for a student doing your course now?

Focus on what will make you different; your time at Aberystwyth allows you to develop a network of contacts and the skills to leverage them.  A first degree will NOT get you the job, being able to talk about what you did outside of your degree will give you a better shot (as long as you can keep up with the course at the same time).