Software Developer New Associate Review

Providing support for end users of given applications as well as maintaining the servers that run the service. There is some development work involved for upgrades to the existing system, these all come in waves dependent to what project you are assigned to at the time. There has been a lot of responsibility shared to myself in which management roles had to be undertaken for a period of time.

I've learned a great number of new programming languages used in the industry, such as Python, Java, C# and many others, that can be applied elsewhere as well as learning some specialized applications. I have already gained a foundation degree from the company as well as the bachelors that I am still working words. Additionally from this role I have learned a lot about managing and running servers, both Windows and Linux based systems with knowledge that can be carried throughout my career.

The job side has been good and provided great knowledge over the time, the education side has had some issues from some of the providers which has caused some issue over the course of the program but with some discussions with those within the company these issues were then worked on and improved for all future apprentice groups that followed the same path.

There is a lot of infrastructure in the company for all apprentices for support throughout, the same can be said for the educational side where you are given all the support you need to balance the job with the degree. There was a long induction period at the start of the programme that supplied a lot of training that will aid all of us in our roles within the company. There are monthly drop in sessions for all apprentices where issues can be raised which has helped streamline the system.

There are a great number of different points of access for support within the company from those who lead the apprenticeship, there is also a lot of support that come from line managers assisting whenever help is needed. There are a lot of options via the HR departments too where you can receive all the support needed for coping with some aspects that are not entirely related to the job, all of which will happily provide help and don't see apprentices as being a burden.

We have been given a strong support network for gaining the qualifications supplying us with added time that can be taken out of work to ensure that all deadlines can be met, the lecturers at each training institution also are more than happy to help all apprentices as they are understanding that unlike full-time students, apprentices have a larger workload to cope with outside of the education side of the programme giving some flexibility.

There has been a lot of fundamentals in the aspects of programming itself as well as the best practices to follow have been taught in the program but there has been a lot of benefit from the project management taught that has helped within the daily job role as it has a lot more of a real world application that can instantly be applied in the company role.

There are a variety of activities available that cater for almost everyone, with some physical activity groups for those who are more interested in that area to football ticket giveaways for employees. Some of the projects also come with biannual or quarterly events for their staff in relation to their project which gives the staff a chance to get out of their role for an afternoon and supply evening events for those who attend.

Yes

It is a great opportunity to work for a company so large with such a large support network for those new to the company and the industry. The application process can be a bit grueling to go through but the reward for going through the entire process is worth the work, there is a lot to gain from each part of the process of the application process that will help you settle into the company better should you be successful.

Take in all the advice that you will be supplied from them during and keep your confidence, they don't expect you to know everything they want someone with ambition to work in their industry the point of the job is to teach you all that you need to know to go about the job afterwards. In the assessment days do not try to steal the show and run the group tasks, they want someone who can provide input and clearly listen to the others opinions and build upon those, they want someone who will work well in a team and not just a leader