Junior Test Analyst Review

My role has changed significantly since I joined. I have worked across multiple areas of the company and have met a huge range of people. I started with development, moved into testing and am now currently working within the PMO - Programme management office. Its been a real experience. Day to day I am investigating for a start-up project and am planning out resources and time. Following up on leads for further development and problem solving.

I've learn lots of new skills and have developed a lot further than I would have originally thought. Sadly not in the areas I had planned when I first joined - Development skills. But my business skills and software testing skills have been progressed hugely in the past year. I have the apprenticeship to thank in part for that

At the start it was very difficult to enjoy, The company couldn't find me a role suitable and I struggled with the projects that I had in front of me. But as time progressed more roles opened up and more opportunities became available. For me patience was a huge part of finding my place within the company and now I have more job fulfilment that I could've predicted when I first started

CGI have looked after me a significant amount during my time here, through the support of my peers and managers I have been cared for during some very tough times due to my mental health. I have a deep respect for CGI and the care and commitment they have to their members. They recognise hard work and reward you for commitment, its taken time but I do truly feel valued by the company.

The programme sadly wasn't very well organised - the structure was fine on paper and at the outset it seemed very promising. But sadly due to failures by myself and my apprenticeship assessor staff we were severely neglected and this adversely affected my programme. I have a very negative and anxious view towards apprenticeship work now.

Very little, this hopefully will change in the upcoming weeks and months as I am returning to work due to long term leave. I have meetings booked with my assessor and will be continuing my training with full enthusiasm. This is a shame that I feel they could've done better, but I believe it was the fault of the individuals that let us down, not just the programme.

It has changed over time, at the beginning I started to resent CGI as I felt very isolated and alone. But after reaching out I found out there was a lot of support around me, one just has to look for it. The support I receive now is substantial and it makes me confident in looking to tackle any future problems I may have within or outside the company.

Not very well, I had a poor 2nd year at CGI and so my pay did not increase by any large margin at all. This has had a huge detrimental affect on my finances and I do have to rely on outcome support and help from family. The apprenticeship wage is not enough to live within any major city - Reading for example. But with good budgeting you can mitigate this problem, it is still a struggle for me each month.

There are lots of internal and external activities while with CGI, they have constant webex calls discussing new areas of IT, business and technology. At the same time they have very active social clubs for each area of the company. They hold voluntary services for the local schools and do charity events often. The higher up management often have company wide calls to inform everyone of large scale changes and to inform them to the status of projects and CGI as a whole.

Yes

For certain people I believe CGI can be a fantastic environment to build skill-sets and networks especially. It is not a salary competitive company, but the other things CGI provide make up for this - for those that are willing to take that trade off. The support you receive from CGI is overwhelming if you reach out for it. With the right attitude, those who graft hard will be rewarded.

Consider that CGI is a very large company, it can be very isolating to work in such an environment if you don't have the support around you to compensate. "Networking is key" is the phrase I heard a lot when i started and two years later I finally am coming to understand its significance. CGI allows you to move from role to role and gives access to lots of areas of work. Prepare yourself for a tough ride, but one that has a lot to learn and lots of good people to meet.