Alumni Stories - Peter Howe

Name: Peter Howe
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Computer Science/Software Engineering 1994
Current job: Operations Manager, Linedata Services

Career experiences since leaving Birmingham University

After leaving Birmingham I joined AT&T as a software developer and continued in the telecoms fields at Aspect. After a further couple of years, I moved to Linedata Services (a financial software house) where I began as a software developer, progressed into project management and in the last 4 years have been leading a software test team, web development team and technical support team.

What is the best thing about what you are doing now?

It's still the challenge and satisfaction from designing and implementing software solutions that drives me but the variety that the technical support management role brings is also rewarding.

What was the best thing about your time here as a student?

I go to many fancy London restaurants these days, but the late night curries at the Chamon can't be beaten!

In what way did living and studying in Birmingham live up to your expectations?

The course was very vocational and not so academic which suited me well.

What advice would you give to current students studying on your degree programme?

Really think about what aspects of software engineering interest you the most and focus on those. It's a broad field (more so now than ever) and the key to enjoying your Birmingham academic life and your career thereafter is to focus on what interests you - and constantly re-evaluate that.