Matthew Burns      

Education, Training & Qualifications:

2000-Present	Currently studying Bsc(Hons) Software Engineering at The University of the West of England.
1997-1999	3 A Levels	C - Mathematics B - Physics E - Chemistry
1995-1997	9 GCSE's	All grades A* - C

Skills

� Web design skills primarily HTML and PERL CGI
� Diverse of programming skills, PERL, JAVA, C/C++, etc.
� Experience on most popular operating systems, but particularly Microsoft Windows and OpenVMS
� High interest in formal specification methods like Z
� High IQ
� Also strong knowledge in mathematics and physics
� Excellent communication skills, true team player
� Proven ability to work without supervision, prioritise effectively and meet demanding deadlines

Experience

    2002-2003 - Analyst Programmer

For fourteen months, I worked full time as an analyst programmer for a very well respected, and experienced, finance-based software house, APAK group plc. This was actually taken as my placement year for my sandwich degree. The system I helped maintain and develop there was written in the company's own bespoke language used only by them. It is a very old language and runs only on VAX machines running OpenVMS. As you can imagine, my learning curve was very steep but that's exactly the kind of challenge I thrive on.

• Bug finding/fixing
• Design and implementation of new functionality sometimes involving people from multiple teams
• Extracting and developing specific requirements from the external customers/stakeholders

    2001 - IT Support Technician

In the summer of 2001 I spent four months working as one of 3 systems administrators for a local company. The company, General Domestic Appliances is one of the biggest tumble dryer factories in Europe. The company has approximately 150 NT workstations on its network. My duties there were wide ranging and involved:

• User Support (Generally MSOffice problems)
• Machine rebuilding/upgrading/installing
• Writing various scripts and programs to automate or simplify some of the jobs around the site

    1998-Present - Production Operative

I am currently working on a production line at the same factory as mentioned above but on the line on a twilight shift. Here I work as a key part of a very fast, hard-working team. I stopped working here for my placement year at APAK but have now returned while I complete my final year of uni. Although it's not what I intend to do as a career, I enjoy my work and have made many friends.

References:

Chris Reid Team Leader APAK Group plc Badminton court Station Road Yate Bristol BS37 5HZ England Telephone 01454 871000

Stuart Green Award Leader University of the West of England Coldharbour Lane Frenchay Bristol BS16 1QY England   Telephone 0117 344 3039

Additional Information:

I have complete passion for the things I do. I thoroughly enjoy programming and the fantastic sense of achievement that comes with it. I'm a firm believer of logical planning before undertaking any work, 'work smarter, not harder', not through laziness, but because I know first-hand that this leads to better work done in less time. I work very well in groups or on my own, as I am a person of strong enthusiasm and determination. On completion of my degree I intend to undertake a masters. After that, I will be looking for a strongly mathematical/programming career which hopefully entails constant challenges and learning.