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Intelligence Analysts: meet the team - Jan |
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"After my degree, I worked for a small business for a year and then joined GCHQ. There was a lot of detail to master quickly, not just the ins and outs of a large organisation, but the technical and political detail of my own topic. There were plenty of new people to meet, too: contacts outside GCHQ as well as those in my own office. After three months I felt I was competent - and then it was time to start adapting things, and putting my mark on them a little more. My day consists of assessing material, and then analysing it and passing it on to my customers. You have to be precise, and you need to turn things round fast when there's a rush on - plus, when someone in Whitehall rings you up to talk detail, you have to really know your stuff! You have to comply with the law: GCHQ is careful about meeting its legal obligations and will monitor that all its staff are doing so. Then there's all that office life of email, meetings and keeping in touch with contacts, by phone or in person. My manager and the head of my section are genuinely approachable and have time for me; it's also true that I can leave at four, providing the work's been done. The fact that my work is classified means that I never end up taking work home. Yes, it is exciting to know what goes on behind the headlines, and it is satisfying to know that your work affected UK policy and decisions. You just have to remember that you can't tell anyone else!" |
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