Software Engineer Review

I work as a Software Engineer, developing on a customer relationship management tool. On a daily basis, I and my team work together to develop the application using programmatic and administrative ways so that it meets the business needs. We also work in an agile methodology, having regular sprint ceremonies to plan and demonstrate the work.

I have learned numerous new skills, including technical and softer skills. These include programming skills, understanding of project management and CRMs. I have also developed teamwork skills, leadership, communication and confidence. There is many opportunities to try different roles to learn different skills, soft and technical skills which is awesome

The project I am on is very good and I enjoy the university work we have to complete as part of the degree apprenticeship. The programme, in general, is flexible with the chance to change projects. Although sometimes you may be on a role you don't enjoy/know you won't enjoy but due to project constraints, you have to try it out anyway for at least a few months to see if you may eventually like it. Also if your role requires it, you may have to travel to the client site, which is great for those who want that opportunity but can be stressful for those who do not want to travel to client site / different countries.

It is generally well organised and structured in terms of having a Friday to go to university and 8 week bootcamp at the start, however, some areas of improvement include a better understanding of how our time needs to be charged and better degree content so that it links better with the jobs we do at work.

Receive lots of support. We are all assigned a career counsellor, line manager and have support networks within the start groups and team members. There is a lot of support from those around, technical and non-technical. Most managers are very understanding and only want the best for you so will do all in their power to ensure that you are happy.

We receive 20% of our time to be charged for study time, specifically 12 days on top of our university days. This is a great help, particularly for the final dissertation. However, this was just introduced so would have been more beneficial if had this privilege earlier Also, the University of Sunderland does provide morning and afternoon lectures on a Friday to teach us the content needed. They are very supportive and understanding of us working full time and are happy to give extensions when really needed. However, the university can be a bit slow when replying to emails/when students need extra help in certain areas which can bring about some frustrations.

I don't feel like the content we learn on our degree reflects what we do on a daily basis, for many different roles. There is a lot of specific roles such as DevOps and Technical Architecture, little is learned about such roles / would like to see more technical content in degree

There are plenty of different activities to get involved in such as side of desk roles (newsletters, sport and social team) and different groups like LGBT/Mental Health Allys. There are also brown bag events to listen to other employees talk about an area they specialise in. Also a lot of volunteer opportunities.

Yes

You will come out on the other side with a BSc Hons in Digital and Technology Solutions, 3 years experience and no student debt - something which many have after university without any experience and have problems finding a job. Also great career progression through levels 13-4! Having spent 3 years working/studying with the company you often find yourself more experienced than new joiners at a higher level.

I would suggest to do some development for a few months before hand and really grasp an understanding before joining as it is a technical degree program. It is also a good way to know if you are really interested in joining. I would also recommend going to an open day to get an idea of the type of people that work there and see the friendly staff.