Explore: Legal

Finance Systems Support Analyst
Freshfields Bruckhaus

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Natalie L

Finance Systems Support Analyst

My current role is a finance systems support analyst. I work for a law firm called Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. I work on a support desk, so queries come in from partners, secretaries, billing teams and business development. It could be providing reporting details. It could be as simple as they need access to a system. No two days are the same. We get various queries. You get a sense of achievement providing people with the information that they require. I think my skills lye in providing support. I am very analytical, I enjoy solving queries, whether it’s financial or IT based.  My experience at school was very positive, I thoroughly enjoyed school. The subjects that I enjoyed were German, not that I was particularly good at it, but I thoroughly enjoyed that. I also enjoyed divinity, learning about different cultures, religions and learning about their different rituals and traditions.

 

As a child I didn’t know what career I wanted to go into because you’re not exposed to the different career options that are available. I was interested in economics, but I didn’t know that there were bankers, traders and all the various different roles. I was also interested in fashion, but I didn’t know that there were buyers, merchandisers, suppliers. So at a young age, I never expressed that these were the areas that I wanted to pursue and a family friend spoke very highly of IT. I knew that I was very good in that subject because I did that at school, so I did a bit of investigation and that’s that area that I chose to pursue.

 

After school I went to college, my college course was computer studies and then I progressed to University and did computer science there.

 

My mother worked for a residential home, she managed a residential home and my father worked in the motor industry, the motor trade. They were very supportive of the roles that I wanted to do. Never dictated to me what I should do, or what profession I should pursue.

 

My first job was working in an IT department as a desk top technician. That was working in a different environment, it was a broadcasting company so it was very relaxed, you didn’t dress corporate, it was casual, I thoroughly enjoyed that job also.

 

Then I progressed to work for a law firm, still working in IT. My next role after that was working for a larger law firm but working in the finance department so I was exposed to a new area of finance, so I’ve got an extra string to my bow.

 

Although I work in a corporate environment I’ve got various different interests. I am particularly interested in fashion; I have got a fashion website called fashion Wall Street. I document the style of corporate attire, I write articles about fashion to inspire my colleagues and people that work in the industry. I interview people also that work in the city. I patrol up and down Fleet Street, which is the street that I currently work on and take photographs of people that work in this area.

 

I think what’s most important to me is working in an environment that you enjoy and I’ve got an exceptionally good team. It’s the people that actually make the job. I enjoy working in finance and I also enjoy the IT element so I see myself still working in the industry or potentially being an entrepreneur.

A family friends suggested that IT might be an interesting option for Natalie and that’s the area that she decided to pursue at college and then at university. Her parents were supportive of her choices. Her first job was in IT support in a creative organisation before moving to a law firm. She is also particularly interested in fashion and runs her own fashion website in her spare time.

More information about IT user support technicians

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£35,360
average salary

The UK average salary is £29,813

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33
average weekly hours

There are 37.5 hours in the average working week

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76%  male 
24%  female 

The UK workforce is 47% female and 53% male

Future employment

Future employment?

Description
? IT user support technicians are responsible for providing technical support, advice and guidance for internal/external users of IT systems and applications, either directly or by telephone, e-mail or other network interaction.
Qualifications
Entry is possible with a variety of academic qualifications and/or relevant experience. Entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades and A levels/H grades together with appropriate NVQ/SVQ (Levels 2, 3 or 4) or an equivalent vocational qualification. Some employers may demand a relevant degree. Training is provided off- and on-the-job supplemented by specialised courses. Postgraduate and professional qualifications and apprenticeships in some areas are available.
Tasks
  • Provides technical support to IT users;
  • Advises users on how to resolve hardware and software problems;
  • Installs and upgrades hardware, cables, operating systems and/or appropriate software;
  • Facilitates user access to systems;
  • Refers more complex or intractable problems to appropriate IT professionals;
  • Researches possible solutions in user guides, technical manuals and other documents;
  • Maintains a log of work in progress, calls received, actions taken and problems detected;
  • Reports on commonly occurring queries to detect underlying problems.
Employment by region
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Top 10 industries for this job
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Computer programming, etc 28010
Legal & accounting 15241
Financial services 7540
Auxiliary  services 5035
Public admin. & defence 4707
Head offices, etc 4533
Employment activities 3764
Advertising, etc 3709
Wholesale trade 3268
Retail trade 2699
Employment status
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