Tim Johnston

Employer: Department for Transport
Qualifications: BSc maths, statistics and operational research, University of Exeter

I applied to the Government Operational Research Service (GORS), a central organisation that co-ordinates the recruitment of operational research staff for government departments. I didn’t know which organisation I would eventually work for but I did have some say and could state which organisations I did (and didn’t) want to work for. I passed the GORS applications board and was then contacted by the Department for Transport as they thought I had the right skills to work in their organisation.

My job

I wouldn’t have taken a public sector job that was dull or uninteresting. My job is to work as part of an internal consultancy unit on various projects concerning operational research. An example would be organising a random check on lorries, to help work out what the baseline of compliance with traffic regulations is. This means designing a survey and a database to collect and store the information, analysing the results and then presenting them to the client.

I travel a lot with my job, going to meet clients in various offices and attending training courses or project meetings. A good working relationship with clients is very important as they often come back to us with different projects later on.

Highs and lows

The colleagues I work with, the variety of projects, working conditions and the opportunity to travel are great. A major benefit of working in the Civil Service is the flexi-time system and generous holiday allowance. Budget restrictions can be frustrating, however, affecting staff numbers and the expansion of the department. I would definitely encourage other graduates to enter this area but they do need to research which employer they would like to work for carefully.