Software Engineer Review

Your day-to-day role can differ dramatically, depending on what task/project you are working on. For example, for myself I am working as a software engineer therefore I may be required to create applications or tests or even communicate with internal clients to understand the main objective. In regards to university, you are only in for two days, however you are still classified as a regular student giving you access to everything a normal full-time student has.

Over my duration of the apprenticeship, without a doubt I have learnt a lot. This ranges from developing soft skills such as communication, leadership and teamwork to technical skills e.g. learning new languages and applying that to the current project you're working on.

I have most definitely enjoyed the programme and continue to do so from both sides of university and at work. In regards to work, you're working with people that are without a doubt best at what they do and being able to work alongside them and learn from them everyday is an amazing opportunity but also getting to know them as individuals is also a great experience. When you're at university, you definitely do not feel out of place even if you're in two days a week, however you may 'miss out' on certain things but understanding that you're working at a well-renowned firm in the meantime and developing your future career definitely outweighs the rest.

While working at Goldman Sachs, the thought of position has never been required from me we (the apprentices) work on things that a regular member will do. Sure, there may be a learning curve at the start but from the beginning, without a doubt you feel valued by the firm as you can see where you're adding value and also by the team itself. There will also be moments within the programme and in anyone's career where you will receive appreciation for the work you've done and in those moments, you actually begin to understand how much value you yourself are to the team and how far you've come from the beginning.

Keeping in mind that this is the first time that Goldman Sachs has ran a degree apprenticeship programme, I believe that they have undoubtedly done well. There is always open-communication and they themselves understand that they may not be perfect in certain areas however they will do their best to make sure that everything is going well. In my personal opinion, I believe it went considerably well, especially considering that this is their first time running such programme.

In regards to university, you are considered the same as any other student and receive the same teaching, lectures and tutorials for your required modules. Degree apprentices also have a advisory session that takes place every week so that if there any concerns that you may have or believe there can be improvements, then the whole group is free to discuss and will be taken into account. You also receive the necessary support, for example there is a session called PASS at university which only occurs on Wednesdays (however apprentices are in at work) and after bringing this up within the advisory session, this was then taken into account and a PASS session was then setup for Tuesday afternoons where students can come in and speak to the older students that have experience in what the first year's are doing and support them wherever possible.

You receive a tremendous amount of support the moment you start. There is a session that is hold almost everyday by the team itself or another member from the firm internally comes in and provides a session that will undoubtedly help support you in the future. There were also a lot of interactive sessions as well along with team-building exercises which were considerably fun and great to know the other apprentices and members of the firm. When you move in to your team, you will have a manager, a buddy and a mentor. And I have to personally say that I am grateful for the amount of time and work that they have to spent to help support me when required and I'm sure the same can be said for the other apprentices.

The salary/package, without a doubt definitely supports you with everything that you need which can range from living/travel costs all the way to university resources.

There are various events provided by the firm in which people can attend and also there are voluntary initiatives that occur throughout the year in which employees of the firm attend a day to help the local community.

Yes

You are given the opportunity to improve yourself dramatically, for the better by working in an environment that helps support you and encourages personal development. Another great thing about the firm (in which I stated previously) is that you are working alongside great people that, without a doubt are the best of the best in their field and by knowing this, you will definitely learn a lot from them.

Out of every skill/attribute there is, I would say passion would go a long way. Find out what you're passionate about and demonstrate those qualities that you have acquired through being passionate about a certain area that aligns with your job. If you can demonstrate this, without a doubt you will go far.