Apprentice Software Engineer Review

by BAE Systems

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

7.6/10

1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

My role involves managing/completing software tasks to develop/maintain applications or pieces of software used in greater systems. I communicate with my team through discussions and regular meetings, and use tools such as Jira to track/manage work.

9/10

2. Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

I have learnt many skills in project management and working in a team, including applying effective practices to my software engineering work to develop code better for collaboration and maintainability. I have learnt many programming languages and tools such as MATLAB, C#, C++, and the Atlassian Suite. I have also learnt a lot about the software development life cycle through contributing to a variety of projects.

10/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

I have enjoyed the working experience with BAE Systems very much, and I feel I have gotten along well with my co-workers. However, my time at UCLan has felt mixed, with disorganisation and heavily grouped deadlines (as opposed to being spread out more evenly) being somewhat common, and the stress of this across all four years has been difficult at times.

5/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

While my time working at BAE Systems has been organised and structured, UCLan has demonstrated disorganisation, and grouped deadlines (as opposed to being spread out more evenly) has lead to stressful experiences.

6/10

5. How much support do you receive from your employer?

I have received good support from BAE Systems where needed, such as providing support for mental health struggle and programme struggles.

9/10

6. How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

The support I have received from UCLan has been mixed, sometimes being unhelpful when communicating concerns about assignments, but other times being able to provide corrections and useful feedback.

6/10

7. How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

I think the skills I have been learning at UCLan are useful, and I have already put them to use in the workplace to write code in certain languages and following types of methodologies, or applying understanding.

9/10

8. Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

Yes

7/10

9a. Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?

Yes

9b. Why?

It is a great programme to learn skills first-hand in the workplace as a software engineer, while also achieving a useful set of qualifications.

10. What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?

Demonstrate interest/passion in the company and in the subject area through your own research, and extracurricular activities.