Software Engineer Review

DevOps Engineer - My Job entails automated build pipelines and managing environments for clients, ensuring what needs to be installed is secure and maintainable and meets user/client requirements. I usually schedule deployments into environments and send out daily emails to the test, dev, config and environments team making them aware of any bug fixes or releases going in. We have a daily call to discuss acitvities and priorities of the day and focus on them, working collaboratively with the off-shore team.

I've been gaining new skills every day and have obtained an Internal Agile professional certification and completed DevOps Academy training to expand my knowledge of DevOps. I find myself easily adapting to people and able to voice my opinions or ideas in a room full of senior people. Personally, I am much more confident and independant in the work I do and can be trusted to get the job done without supervision. I've learnt about trading platforms and Open-Banking recently, having worked in Financial Services.

I love being challenged at work and that happens everyday so I genuinely look forward to coming in and getting started. It's nice to know my opinions and ideas are considered or taken forward as part of the DevOps stream on my project. My team are very inclusive and supportive, understanding very well that I'm juggling work and study so try not to put too much pressure on me. Accenture as a whole makes me go the extra mile by providing unlimited opportunities for me to make a difference. I'm able to reach young people on the platform I've been given and share my experiences while encouraging more women into technology (which is very rewarding). Accenture also has a very inclusive environment where I feel treated equally to all those around me. It's exceeded my expectations as I've never worked in a corporate environment before and I've gained way more than I set out to. I've had the best 3 years so far at Accenture and thoroughly enjoyed it along with all the people I've come across.

Recognition happens often in Accenture and I always receive thank you notes or feedback from my managers letting me know how well I've done. There is also performance points for the hard work which is a monetary award. Accenture also hosts a 'Greater Than' award to recognize those that have gone the extra mile and there is a voting poll, which I got nominated for this year! As a person or engineer, I think I'm valued a lot in my projects and at Accenture because of the sheer amount of diversity, each individual brings something different to the table and my projects respect that.

Our Induction was an intro to Accenture which consisted of presentations and we got straight into training. Training is made up of face-to-face workshops with tutors or studying online material, which I am both comfortable with. The element of independent study has prepared me for my harder modules/assignments. There is also a huge amount of support available from our training provider and those working at Accenture. We have careers counsellors and line managers at Accenture with years of experience in technology that play a huge role in mentoring apprentices. I think our apprenticeship programme is well organised because we are not expected to be out of office often and are looked by others in the company as full-time employees/a graduate.

Our tutors are available to respond to us during working hours so I get a lot of support from them. We often communicate via email about courses and get advice on any recommended reading. Our tutors provide the most support during face-to-face workshops and are very encouraging of our ideas. They usually guide us through our assignments and what they expect to receive on submission and are generally very positive. I enjoy our workshops because we can work at our own pace along with much support.

My Manager is very understanding and recognizes that I'm an apprentice so doesn't try to pile on too much work although I'll prod him if I need more to keep me busy. He also encourages external training in the field I'd like to specialise in - DevOps. The HR team are available for us to voice any concerns and although I haven't had to communicate much with them, they rolled out our contracts and got us set up in Accenture full-time. We have tonnes of training material available on internal accenture sites and are able to speak to our careers counsellors for any general problems or guidance. I think everyone is very involved and encouraging of the apprenticeship programme so are always happy to help.

I live at home with my family so my rent is not very high and I go out once a week socially so I think as a whole, my salary meets my costs and more. Travel costs in London are high but I'm able to save and cover my expenses.

There are so many social events and activies that can be planned within teams. Also on client projects, there's a "LifeAt" team, hosting events, socials and activities to bring the team closer. Accenture Technology constantly send out emails on volunteering at food banks or universities or classes and I have had the opportunity to do a couple. We have many societies such as netball, wine-tasting, asian-food etc where people of different backgrounds can come together and explore. Prior to working I was a college student and was not aware of half of the opportunities available to us, until joining Accenture.

Yes

It's a great place to work with a warming atmosphere and has so much to give. There are many skills and experiences to be gained and it really is a 'people' company where everyone's willing to help.

Have a keen interest in Technology and the latest trends, be confident and you may not have all the skills required but if you know what skills you want to gain and how you will gain them, that's a start. There's a group assessment so it's important to stand-out without dictating.