Software Developer Review

My role varies dependent on who I am working with. The majority of my time is spent developing a program called “WillBot”. However, I am included in another team in which my role is to keep track of our other programs and to perform maintenance on any of them that are causing errors.

Since I have been at willis I have learnt a lot of new skills. I can now competently piece together C# console applications and have some understanding of C# itself. I have also learned a lot about database and am now able to set up a database as well as query the data inside using SQL.

I really enjoy my program, I like the flexibility of working from home, and the office has a really nice tone and everyone is great! The work is not repetitive and often presents me with a wide range of challenges and I am always learning interesting new skills every day.

My program has a suitable structure for me. The work is organized, the projects that I need to create are all clearly set out but not to the point where I am worrying about deadlines for them and rush the projects. I have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and in what time frame without being pushed to hard to lower the quality of work.

A lot of the time I don’t need support from my employer, the tasks that I undertake are often easily accessible on the internet, if I teach myself something I am less likely to forget, therefore I will retain that skill. However when I do need help, my employer will guide me in the right direction.

My training provider mostly provide me with resources for courses and the criteria for some of the courses. I don’t think that I would really need any help from the training provider when in the work place unless I need some information about the actual course that I am on.

I wouldn't say that this qualification really helps my performance in my role, I am always trying to challenge myself and gain new knowledge through the projects that I am doing. The qualification is a good end goal short term, but I am not really concerned about the qualification in my day to day performance as I am always trying to give as much as i can.

My workplace has something going on every day, whether this be charity events, sports events or anything else. Willis are very in touch with local charities so a lot of charity work is done here, as well as this there are always workshops and meetings about mental health, and lots of other subjects that might be necessary for some people.

Yes

I would advice a firebrand apprenticeship as they do provide very clear set out courses which are easy to plan out and understand from the get go. I believe there could be more support from mentors through email or text, but as an overall course, firebrand does have a good system

Be prepared to get work done. Don't do a firebrand apprenticeship in a field that you don't want to work in. If you are not doing something you are interested in, this is a lot of hard work for something that you dont care about, you have to be interested to get the work done.