IT Specialist
IBM

Felix A

00:00:05 Hello. My name’s Felix A and I’m an IT Specialist and I work for IBM. That involves anything from doing designing, implementing, building or testing a computer system. So one of the customers that I’m working for is a national retailer and they have a lot of retail stores around the country, and so what we’re doing is we’re creating a computer system which will manage all of their tills and all of their workstations in each store.

00:29:00 I work all over the country, for example, doing different things and although we use the same sort of products, every customer uses it differently and has a different problem that we need to solve, so the job is never the same which is something I really like. Unfortunately I get a lot of calls from family saying can you come and fix this, can you come and fix that. Educationally I’ll tell you I went to one of the best schools around the area that I lived in, and socially it was good environment as well and I enjoyed myself at school and I obtained some good grades as well so I’m happy for that, yeah.

00:01:00 I did like science, especially chemistry and business studies as well. Some of the teachers really encouraged me to…to push for the best grades and it’s something that I still thank them for today ‘cos I didn’t think that I could get it. My parents came over from Africa and so my Dad was a chef and my Mum, they both worked in the food industry actually. My Mum was a dinner lady at a primary school. I wouldn’t say they put much pressure on me in terms of my education, just made sure I did my best and that I tried my hardest at all times and I set an example for my younger brother.

00:01:31 I’ve always had a consciousness that my parents came over to this country and that I could have easily, for example, born and grown up in Africa and it’s…it’s great to do so but being in this country, there’s a lot more opportunity so I’ve always, I’m not sure why or where it came from, but I’ve always thought to myself that I must make the best of my opportunities and that I must not squander my time, for example.

00:01:55 As I went through university, I didn’t have sort of the typical experience of leaving home, for example, ‘cos I went to a London university. Between second and third year of university, I worked at IBM for one year so it was my first real taste of how IBM is. There was a friend who I hadn’t seen for many years and he…he was a salesman at the time and he just told me he worked for IBM and for some reason that just stuck in my mind.

00:02:16 So I researched about the company and found how actually how big they were and what they’ve done for throughout life to be honest, and it really just meant that IBM was my number one choice, so I really went to try and get that job and worked there during my work placement. If you set a goal that that’s the company I want to work for and then you get accepted, it really gives you a sense of achievement and I was very happy.

00:02:37 Where do I hope to see myself in five years time? I would say probably still at IBM in a much more senior role than what I’m doing at the moment. I’d like to maybe work on the edge of cutting-edge technology, maybe design or create something that for the world to use, for example.

00:02:55 I’m actually learning to play the drums. I bought myself a drum kit last year. Every week I have lessons with a member from my church who’s teaching me how to play the drums so that’s one, something that I’m really passionate about. Within my church, we play gospel music which is…can be funk, can be reggae. Because I go to a predominantly African church, there’s a type of music called high life and so I’m learning to play that as well.

00:03:23 I’ve been a born again Christian since I was 14 and so I think what’s helped me to be focused as I mentioned earlier how I’ve always put pressure on myself to do well. I think that comes from my Christian background as well. Family is also an important part of my life as well. I’m always looking out for brothers and cousins, for example, and vice versa and they really helped me to be where I am today.