David Hurst graduated from the MSc Software Systems course in 2018.

Choosing my degree

I chose the MSc Software Systems course at Bath because I wanted to expand on the experience and knowledge I had from undergraduate level while challenging myself to go that one step further.

I knew a master’s would give me a direct route to the career I wanted to pursue. Bath’s postgraduate course had units that were very appealing to me and were a high demand skill in my field. Some of my favourite subjects were Safety Critical Systems, and Intelligent Control and Cognitive systems.

Why I chose Bath

I loved both the city and the University. It’s a very nice area of the UK and a beautiful place to live in general. I met a lot of awesome people during my time at Bath, and although everyone was from different backgrounds, we all got along great.

Facilities on campus

I was a frequent user of the Bath’s Sports Training Village and was amazed at the facilities they had to offer. If you’re a gym-goer like me, the University gym is one of the best I’ve ever been to.

Also, for the people that are into it, the nightlife and bar scene in Bath was much better than I expected, and as I had grown up in Manchester the bar had been set quite high!

Life after graduation

I am working as an Infrastructure Engineer at a software company based in Exeter, Devon. My day-to-day is varied, but I would say my primary responsibility includes researching new technologies to incorporate into the business, with a focus on cloud computing. I’ve also pursued some technical qualifications since starting my professional career, such as becoming a Microsoft-certified professional.

Applying my knowledge in the workplace

I firmly believe that the skills you will learn during a postgraduate degree are applicable to almost any job, and I feel that even if I were to change careers, the skills learnt during the master's course were crucial to my professional development.

Indeed, I learnt many technical skills and was very proud of some of the work I did at Bath, but I was surprised at how much I had grown in terms of ‘soft’ skills. Skills such as time management, communication and teamwork are often overlooked in technical roles, but they are an absolute necessity in a modern workplace. Bath’s technical courses had a strong focus on these skills, and I found that to be very useful in my job.

Looking to the future

My goals for the future are to continue to develop myself both on a professional and personal level. One day I would like to take the skills I've learnt throughout the years and start a business of my own, but there are no immediate plans for that yet!

My advice for prospective students

I was originally unsure about pursuing a master's, but I’m glad I went for it. A master's is not easy by any means, but if you persevere and stick with it, you will learn a lot about yourself.

Plus, the feeling of completing the degree was phenomenal. It's definitely worth the investment!