Engineer Review

I work within technology infrastructure, learning various skills such as; Java Development, Incident Management, Vulnerability Management and Key Management. On a day to day basis I work with colleagues in my team, working to resolve incidents, server updates through scrum meetings.

I have learned a lot about Network architecture and security. I've mostly enjoyed learning about the different risks and how to recover from a disaster. I have started to learn Java which requires a different way of thinking but it is a stretch skill that I'd like to develop and the environment I'm in allows me to do that.

My programme allows me to be flexible in between my university assignments and my business-as-usual projects and I feel like I can speak to my colleagues and manager about how I feel work is going for me. So far, I have been able to mobilise well through rotations into different teams to learn new skills and find a role that I love.

As a female in technology, female equality is heavily encouraged here and I am involved in organizing Women In Technology events. My colleagues appreciate that I am also doing a degree and value the time I have with the team and help direct me in anything that I want to learn and achieve.

In my second year of university, we se a 1/4 day model. One day of the week dedicated to studying and four days of the week in office. I was the first intake of the degree programme, so mistakes were likely to happen however, nothing detrimental to my job or degree has happened and the careers team and university listen to our queries and use our feedback to improve the programme.

We have a university advisor who from personal experience, has always been reliable, friendly and helpful. Our lectures have provided their emails if we have any questions after the lectures and I have had 1-1s with some lecturers before for additional help.

Ongoing support is there when I need it. If I need some extra time in the week to concentrate on studying, my manager is heavily involved in the projects and university assignments I have going on and their deadlines. Moreover, any self-development projects that I can get into, he is helpful and supportive.

The apprentice salary was tough for the cost of living. I would only see 2/10 of my salary and would need to get food for the month out of that too. Making ends meet was difficult as the cost of relocating was a huge factor and was 3/4 of my pay each month. Even an an extra £200 a month would have made the work/life balance a lot easier and would have decreased my stress a lot. Of course, I have to factor in that my degree is getting paid for me but that was not a factor of determining my salary to my knowledge.

In the field and industry that I am in, there are endless opportunities outside of work if I wanted to find an external job. Moreover, as a female in technology, there is high demand in most companies. To add, there are external certifications that I can complete whilst remaining in the same company to develop myself even further as a specialist.

Yes

I have matured as a student and as a young professional in my last two years here. I am well looked after health wise and have the opportunity to start my pension. There are so many jobs internal that can help you develop your skill-set and grow as a person. The team spirit doesn't go unnoticed and colleagues are like friends.

Know and play to your strengths, emphasize your enthusiasm to want to develop as a person and give examples of skills that you'd like to learn or enhance. Heavily research the company and try to understand how they fit into current affairs. Prepare for interviews by researching best practices and be yourself.