Software Engineer Review

My job title is a software engineer which entails working with lots of different technologies: Java, SQL, UNIX, Hive and Impala to name a few. As part of my role I have to have security clearance which allows me to work on most projects in the uk. At the minute day to day I am mainly using UNIX to ingest data.

At the start of my sponsored degree I didnt have any coding knowledge at all, and knew very little about it, but in the relatively short time that I have been here I feel like I have progressed a lot to the point where people couldn't tell that a year ago I knew nothing. I also feel like this has given me the chance to develop my interpersonal skills as well, giving me plenty of opportunities to present my work to those above me (ie managers/ team leads).

I thoroughly enjoy the programme here as the work load isn't too heavy yet it is enough to feel challenge and not feel like I am stuck in a mundane job. All the teams that I work with, especially the team I am part of, all value my opinion and listen to what I have to say which is always good. As the company is based on several moral values I feel like this makes for a great company to be part of. It has surpassed my expectations as I didn't know how good I would be at it because i'd never done anything like it before yet with all the training I was given I now know I can.

I feel fully valued as part of Capgemini, all my managers seem to value my opinion and I am always included in any meetings. I feel like all the teams that I work with, especially the team I am part of, all value my opinion and listen to what I have to say. After taking part in an internal competition, although I didn't win, I got recognition for the effort that I'd put in in the form of a £100 amazon voucher.

I believe that from induction to my point currently the whole this has been structured extremely well. Throughout induction we were told how everything would fit into our full time job. As far as studying we are kept up to date with all our lecture times and told in plenty of time if there is any change. I would say the programme is very well organised.

We receive all the support that we need, and most of the time we are given it before we even ask. During our initial training our tutors are always available offering help for whatever we need. Now with our sponsored degree our lecturers are always at the end of an email if we need them, and we can always go to the university to see them if we need to.

Our GAP (Graduate Apprentice Programme) team are always there to help us with anything, be it work related or not work related, even if you just needed a chat they would be there to listen to you. The HR team have a live chat which means any problems we have we can speak to someone about it within minutes.

My salary fully meets my living costs, and any costs that I have. Also all my travel costs are covered as well, so I don't have to pay to travel to work either. I feel like the wage is more than enough for anyone my age and the chances for promotion come about every 6 months so the salary can increase.

There as so many opportunities to go to company events out of the office, we are always emailed about helping out as career events and going into schools to talk about our job. There is also quite a sports clubs that you can join, I am part of the football one but there is one for most people. Within induction especially the company focus on doing as many activities as you can, for instance one of ours was laser tag.

Yes

It is a way of getting a degree while being paid, and it saves you the money of having to pay for university and getting into all that debt before you have found a job. Instead you can have a guaranteed job, and get paid alongside that. I feel like the company is very fair with the opportunities and with the salary, and it is a way to gain valuable experience that those of a similar age would not have the chance to get.

Even if you don't have a particularly "techy" background you can still apply, they look for maths and science qualifications as well so you can get through with them. The interviews are all strengths based instead of just a grilling so you just have to talk about yourself. Then once you get offered a job, everything after that is just fun, especially the induction week, and the accelerated learning that they put Capgemini put you through because that's just like going to uni while you're getting paid.