DevOps engineer Review

As a devops engineer I am required to create and maintain code that processes deployments and updates for the client project I work for. I work in an agile team which means sprint ceremonies and daily standups.

All of my technical skills to do with industry grade tools have been learned on the job. Specialist technical skills such as Terraform, CI/CD and AWS are all skills that I have not previous known before taking this apprenticeship but through constant use and practice I have become proficient and relatively advanced.

I enjoy my programme to the extent that I have real impact on my project and my workspace, and I am doing real-life professional work. I have gained a lot technical and professional experience. Sometimes, I wish that the workload was decreased as to accomodate that I have University work as well, though.

The university programme is well structured. The on the job side is less structured; I have to find my own projects and clients to work for, and I end up going project to project as I am in the consulting department.

My line manager is extremely helpful in terms of understanding what I need to do as an apprentice and my responsibilities. This allows me to be able to organise my time efficiently and with minimal stress to attend to both work and university duties. All client projects know what to expect when they onboard an apprentice - one education day per week.

The lecturers are fine. Sometimes it seems like they do not understand that apprentices only have one day a week to do education and really give us a huge workload. Lecturers can vary wildly but in the works case scenario it seems like they do not mark assignments correctly and give the necessary feedback.

Most of the modules relate somehow to my understanding of the role I am in and what I am doing, but some do not relate whatsoever with my role, such as project management and interpersonal skills. The more technical modules have helped massively in my work, such as learning python etc.

There are lots at London, but due to me being located in Warwick it is not really feasible for me to travel every time there is a social event.

Yes

IBM offers lots of support to their foundation employees and has a good atmosphere to work in. They absolutely take care of their employees, upskilling them from complete beginners to specialised professionals.

Please use your due diligence and show interviewers you can go above and beyond in your work and attitude.