IT Degree Apprentice Review

I'm employed at SSE as a Degree Apprentice in IT. I'm currently working in Service Delivery, which handles all services and requests that the business need to function on a day-to-day basis. This includes configuring pre-production servers, creating software packages, building servers, understanding the different collections that employees are allocated to within the company via SCCM. Most days involve working with the team doing various projects or little tasters to "dip my feet" in different aspects. With the current project I'm working on, I have to actively communicate with different employees in the business to find out who owns certain servers for configuration. Even dealing with hih priority servers which are crucial to the business are left in my hands to work with! As well as these job-related tasks, whenever we have university assignments, my team and managers are always understanding if coursework needs to be done at work and they allow it.

Despite only being here for 6 months so far, I've already absorbed a substantial amount of business information as well as IT knowledge. It's interesting to see how a big company like SSE with all of its different directorates communicate with each other to deliver the best they possibly can. It's an eye-opener to finally understand how people who work out on the field require so much attention from us as IT guys to let everything work the way it should. After these 4 years, I'll have finished university with a degree in Technology & Digital Solutions with no student debt to pay off as well as 4 years of IT work experience. I've also learned how to communicate professionally with new people with ease.

I very much enjoy the work I do. I've had a passion to get into IT since I was about 12 and 8 years down the line, I finally paved the pathway I needed to do so by working at SSE doing the scheme. My team are extremely helpful, patient and very friendly, which makes me feel obliged to come into work as I know I'll be surrounded by good people with good intentions. The company's culture and its qualities paint a picture of what a perfect place to work is. SSE value people's wellbeing and theyt want to ensure that people have the right mindset and to address any problems hands on without the stress or long-term problems. They've really outdone what I expected. I expected SSE to be the standard monotonous business with a very dreary setting, but it's in fact the complete opposite and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

This is the only setback I'm having so far. Besides my own personal pride for completing tasks and completing coursework, I have never recieved any sort of praise from anyone in the company. I've had a few "pats on the back" from a few employees for helping solve problems, but I'm yet to hear something from someone about how my progress has been coming along.

The induction of the programme was very well orchestrated considering it was a dry run for both us and SSE as a company. We're the first for SSE, so it's expected that there's bound to be problems, but despite that, the first 6 months has turned out very well. We have appropriate training if and when need be, we have an extremely wide range of support, from work supplying a personal mentor and substantial people support such as private health care, councilling etc. With regards to the team hierarchy, I'm treated like an apprentice, so I'm never given anything serious to handle. This is a good thing for me as I don't quite feel responsible or qualified enough to handle something severe, but I'll always shadow someone experienced if need be to understand some of the more serious business.

As I previously mentioned^, we have a very broad range of accessible ways for us to be assisted. I've got both a very helpful and willing university tutor who is always willing to give up his free time to assist us. At work, we have personal mentors who help us with guidance at work if we need it. From experience, I've encountered a lot of personal issues recently which I told work and they were so supportive with how I should amend the problems and how I should address it without being patronising or making me feel belittled. Since these chats regarding my problems, I'm addressing the problems and taking them head-on to better myself for the future.

I recieve support from my managers, the HR team, my mentor and even my colleagues. The support is always good because it's coming from someone that has the experience and won't fully be able to understand my circumstances but it's all relatable. The work support is always appreciated, I'm given opinions and personal experience which I can relate my problems to.

The salary is honestly superb if you're local and not paying rent. Because of my situation, I live in Bournemouth and I have to commute 5 hours a day by train & walking which is quite a toll on my wallet on a monthly basis even with a discounted railcard. I also pay rent, which in my personal opinion is too much for what I earn and I also have a social life which I can't experience as vividly as I hoped I would because my wages end up going on the important things. Initially, I was extremely mislead by the application for SSE. It said on Indeed (the website I discovered the opportunity on) that it was based in Southampton which is convenient, except it turned out to be based in Havant, which is another hour out of my way. I must say, the pay is incredible taking into account that we get a degree and work experience for such a generous wage but my circumstances prevent me from saving and putting my money towards the things I really need and want for my life and future.

There's a lot of company events which I haven't had a full flavour of just yet. I've recently been to the training facility which is based in Thatcham, which gave us degree apprentices a helicopter view of the company. We were able to understand how the IT field we work in connects with the guys who work in the power stations and sub stations. There is a "Be the Difference" feature at work, which allows employees to do charity events through the company and have it count as a day's pay at work and you get a moral sense of accomplishment for helping out. Before I was working at SSE, I was a beach ranger with a passion for skateboarding, surfing and having a good time with my friends. Since the IT field is highly contrasted to my interests, it's hard to find other people who are into the same hobbies as me at work. Regardless, it's very easy to exchange your interests with others at SSE and I even picked up new hobbies as well.

Yes

It's a no brainer - you get a degree essentially for free, you get 4-6 years work experience in lieu, you learn to make connections with people that you'd never expect you would and you also earn quite a lot of money. You would be daft not to consider it.

Depending on what your experience/interest is in, whether it be IT or a business background, it's important to never judge the process before you apply. From the minute I applied, I knew it would be a challenge. You have to always be yourself. Never put on a facade of a typical professional if you don't know what you're talking about, but it is important to be polite and act smart regardless. Never let the application process overwhelm you - I didn't know that the assessment dya would include an interview as well as a presentation that I'd spent weeks preparing for but I was extremely calm and collective for both the presentation and the interview. That was new to me! I'd always been extremely nervous for interviews, I'd be put on the spot and felt pressured. The interview I had here was more like a conversation - comfortable, informal and easy.