software engineering degree apprentice Review

by BAE Systems

Best Apprenticeship Employer

Rating

7.9/10

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

Work as a regular member of the team 3/5 days a week. includes writing, maintaining and testing code. 2/5 days of the week are spent working on the degree.

9/10

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

Have developed and learned lots of new skills. I have learned new coding languages such as java as well as progressing my knowledge on how integrated software systems function.

10/10

3. To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

The programme is quite good as a whole. there's a fair amount of work required after official hours if you want to get anything better then a passing grade in your degree. they claim there's enough time to get a 2:1 with the time given but there's not for the average person

9/10

4. How well organised/structured is your programme?

Its quite well structured. part of the week will be dedicated solely to team work then the other remainders will be spent dedicated to uni time.

9/10

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

They are generally quite good when you reach out for help on issues and are happy to help

9/10

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

there's been issues with the universities in the past as they often ignore the BAE students a lot compared to the main campus cohort. however the supplier has recently changed and may now be better

5/10

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

most of the knowledge you use in your role you'll learn on the job. the degree helps give a wider view on the different types of development and different areas to go into but i dont often find that i use the skills directly

7/10

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.)

there are some office sports teams, football, badminton and maybe others i don't know about but there's not an abundance of choices

5/10

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

Yes

9b. Why?

Overall quite a good programme. people are generally nice to work with. there are definitely some issues but compared to some apprentices on other schemes i know it could be much worse

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

when applying for an apprenticeship you might not have any software experience but this doesn't mean you wont get the job. look for skills you have from other things you have done that are transferable to the job and you'll still have a good chance of getting an offer compared to someone who has coding experience.