Beth Noel

"Hi! My name is Beth, I am 26 years old, live in Sheffield, and work as a Business Analyst for a company in the financial technology sector. As part of my role I often work as a 'Coordinator', helping our Programme Managers to ensure that our projects are delivered to our clients on time, and making sure that our clients understand the process. This can require a lot of patience to get everyone on the same schedule, and I have to be very good at replying to emails promptly to prevent any delays for our clients.My role also involves a lot of work as an 'Influencer'. Being a Business Analyst means I am the communication channel between the client and our technology developers. Often what the client needs for their business can be different from the exciting code our developers want to write, so I have to be very diplomatic and work to get the solution that achieves the best outcome.I also spend a lot of time working as a 'Trainer'. Often our clients are unfamiliar with the sort of technology we provide, so I spend a lot of time explaining what it does so that they can get the best experience. This can take many forms, including it is answering questions via email, putting together presentations or writing user guides, and I have even run interactive online training sessions to help get new users up and running."

"As a Business Analyst my main role is to bridge the gap between the technical teams and the clients, by 'translating' business requirements into the technical descriptions that our tech teams need to develop the product. Communication skills are extremely important, and this is what I love the most about the role. For Business Analysts the main aim is to deliver the correct product that suits all of the client's business needs and has no bugs or glitches, so you have to have a keen eye for detail and be good at remembering obscure requirements that the client has mentioned in meetings.The starting salary for a Business Analyst can vary depending on your background and qualifications, and the region you are living in, but it is usually between £21,000 and £31,000."

"After graduation I decided that I wanted to use my language skills in my job, so I worked for a French company in London selling advertising for French newspapers and magazines. Whilst I loved speaking French on a daily basis, I decided that the advertising industry wasn't for me. When the opportunity to move to Sheffield arose, I found a job at Recordsure working as a transcriber and annotator which would partly use my language skills.After 7 months with the company the opportunity to support one of our Programme Managers came up and my line manager put me forward for the position as she believed that I had the confidence and skills to take on more responsibility within the company. I jumped at the chance to learn more about the industry and develop my responsibilities, and this support role grew into the position of Business Analyst that I am working in today. "

"When I am not working, I am a keen musician and play my violin and saxophone in local orchestras and bands. In the summer months you can often spot me on a park bandstand somewhere in Sheffield or Derbyshire playing along with the Steel City Concert Band! I also enjoy running and yoga, which I try to do regularly to make up for the time I spend sat in front of a computer at work. As I also love to bake, there is usually a sweet reward on offer after a workout session, which makes it worth it. In the evenings I tend to relax by doing some crochet or cross stitch, and I have recently purchased a sewing machine. I always have lots of projects on the go at once, but this year I hope to start making some of my own clothes."

"My day can vary dramatically as the majority of my work is client-led! The day usually begins with a 'stand-up' where the technology members of my team report on the work they have been doing, and I can provide guidance if they have any questions about the business context of the work they are doing.I typically spend time working on documentation that I provide to clients, which usually details their requirements for the development work we are undertaking. This often includes putting together presentations to demonstrate the new functionality we have built. Meetings also form a large part of my day, which is great as I love communicating with others! These can be both internal (with other members of my team, or coordinating work with other teams), and external with our clients. Having regular contact with our clients means that we are more likely to understand their requirements for the product and deliver them with a solution that really suits their needs. I also spend time replying to emails. If we receive any queries about how the product works, or bugs that have been found by the clients, I need to coordinate with the technology teams to investigate and write a response that makes sense to our clients who don't understand the complicated developer language! Solving a client problem can be extremely satisfying so I really enjoy this aspect of the job.Finally, when we are ready to deliver our product I spend quite a lot of my day testing and verifying that the developers have built what we asked for and that there aren't any bugs. When a bug is discovered, we hold sessions with the developers to discuss the issue and work towards a resolution. There is no such thing as a 'bug-free' product, but we aim to get as close as possible!"

"I have a very mixed bag of qualifications as I have never been 100% sure about what I want to do in life! So all my options have been kept open, and I feel that everything I have studied has contributed to the skills I am able to use in my role as Business Analyst.I have A levels in English Literature, Chemistry, and French (with AS level Music). After sixth form I headed to Durham University, where I studied for a Modern Languages degree in French and Russian. This degree gave me the opportunity to travel abroad, and I spent a semester in both France and Siberia! I graduated in 2017 with a 2:1 Bachelors Degree. Once I moved into my current role, I wanted to be able to develop my skills in order to progress my career. Recordsure kindly provided funding so that I would be able to take some relevant qualifications, and last year I took the BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis. I intend to continue my educational journey by completing further modules which will add up to the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis."