Premier Field Engineers

‘I joined PFE a few weeks after my graduation [University of Leeds; first-class degree in Computing-Management]. I had done a year’s internship as part of my degree with the team. This really helped develop my skills and I would recommend that everyone did it. Before joining Microsoft, I had worked as a Cisco Certified Academy Instructor for a regional training organisation delivering advanced routing and networking courses. PFE provided great opportunities during my internship; they even sponsored me through my final year at University. This investment meant that I was able to go straight into a full-time PFE role, and I was working on site on my second day. This illustrates how PFE invests in people to build talent.’

‘My clients include banks and retail companies and I’ve recently returned from Portugal, where I was dealing with the country’s largest supermarket chain. I travel extensively but I do enjoy it and I get time off in lieu in compensation for working out of hours. I have also had the opportunity to get involved in fantastic projects,

the most noteworthy of which has been co-authoring an upcoming book entitled ‘Professional BizTalk 2006’. I was able to use part of my personal development time to participate in this project. This was great as it allowed me to further develop my technical skills and engage fully with the BizTalk Product Group. This open-minded approach to management is, for me, one of the biggest benefits of being here. It truly does allow you to make PFE work for you.’

‘I still find time to socialise with people around me. For example, every Monday, the team goes to the gym as a group. In the nine months I’ve been in the role; I’ve already formed friendships that I can’t see giving up. There’s a real sense of camaraderie here, and everyone knows they can go further by sharing knowledge than by going it alone. There’s so much room to move here, you simply don’t need to be ruthless to stand out. I wouldn’t say there’s a typical Microsoft person, but I do think that, if you enjoy team work and travel and you’re the type who knows what they want out of the experience, you can go anywhere you want.’