Web Developer Apprentice Review

Currently, I work in a product team maintaining and delivering new features for the UK Customer Portal team. I mainly work with Typescript, using React and Nestjs. When I first started my apprenticeship, I worked with C# ASP.NET core on RESTful APIs, but I shifted teams to learn more.

Before starting my Apprenticeship, I was a self-taught C# working on my own personal game development projects and I knew nothing about the software development process. Since then I have learnt a lot about how to write good quality code and how to deliver new features in an Agile environment.

I enjoy my programme, It's great having my hobby as a job. The people I work with are amazing and I have learnt so much from the experienced developers I work with. There are plenty of excellent opportunities, I recently attended a three day software development conference in London!

The apprenticeship has been fairly well structured. I frequently meet with my trainer from the college to discuss progress on my reports, I have a meeting every week with my boss to discuss how my week is going. My colleagues give me suitable tasks to complete to support my qualification.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. The people I work with are supportive and always happy to help me. I have learnt lots from working with the other web developers, they are all have a lot of experience and they are good at explaining things to me.

I attended lessons on software development and software development methodologies. This concluded with a group task where we had to develop a counselling appointment system for a real charity to use. I really enjoyed this bit of work as it was a great opportunity to apply what I have learnt.

I feel like I have learnt the most through working as I prefer to learn by applying new new ideas. The lessons at college were interesting and I got invited to lots of good talks. Writing reports has made me think more about the work I do and its impacts.

There are a number activities to get involved in, last year I was in the UK Technology forum. As we have been working from home mainly, there have been a few online escape rooms which have been a lot of fun. Developers hold sessions where we present interesting development topics.

Yes

It's an excellent place to work. Recently, I received a very large bonus and picked up a brand new loan car on the company scheme. The company are very supportive and there are lots of great opportunities. All the developers are amazing and great at teaching me new topics.

For aspiring developers, work on personal projects and demonstrate your passionate and enthusiasm about software development. Never be afraid to ask questions! Nothing is too silly to ask. Asking lots of questions will never make you look stupid; it shows you're interested! I would recommend a good password manager