Network / Infrastructure engineer Review

An overview would be to support 2 systems that Jisc provide to their members. For the first year this is mostly answering ticket queries on technical requirements for new joiners, issues existing members are having with their implementations and policy related questions surrounding the service definition and requirements in order to run the service on their site. This is not a boring task as most tickets are completely different and give me a good opportunity to delve into some reading, consult with the Service manager, or have a chat with my technical mentor in order to properly understand and then answer the members query.

Everything I have learned has been a whole new skill as I went through a career change into a different industry for this apprenticeship. So far I have: - Used 4-5 different distributions of Linux, mostly using the command line (this was coming from purely a windows GUI background) - Learned how to use various pattern matching and replacing tools like SED and AWK - Bash scripting - Python programming - Various server setups (DHCP, DNS, MariaDB, Syslog, LDAP, FreeRadius etc etc) - Currently working on a project to put in place a database solution for our services. - Attended external training to help develop my knowledge of networking. - Attended conferences that have been hosted by Jisc in order to share information with our members, this has helped improve technical discussion. - Utilisation of virtual machines and configuration management systems to increase automation of production/development infrastructure setup. The list goes on and on to be honest

My role really suits me. The work that I do is challenging and gives a great level of satisfaction, from working with members to learning the next technical skill in order to take on more responsibilities. Also my team is second to none, a relatively small team but highly diverse, from: - Tur head of network access who always takes the time to see how I am getting on and if I need anything pushed or advice given in order for things to happen - The 2 service managers who oversee the services my team offer, both of which are very knowledgeable and highly approachable to help me along with the policy and procedure side of our services - not 1, but 2 technical mentors...although not officially my mentors they have made sure to give me a great exposure to the systems they work with as well as advise to look at others which they haven't worked with yet but would be useful for myself in the future of my career to get behind and learn now. Just simply there is no question that goes unanswered or which isn't answered fully and further support given if required.

My external training had some hiccups at the beginning, however this was due to a big increase in learners and has since calmed down, I feel confident that I'm being given the resources to score highly on my level 4 exams and assignments from both my training provider as well as the knowledge I am gaining within my workplace and team. My training from my work colleagues is very impressive indeed, the range of tasks that I am given are provided in such a way that I am taking knowledge from my previous learned tasks and applying it to the next tasks whilst gaining a little more with each task completed. As previously mentioned, my team and mentors provide excellent support which inspires a lot of confidence.

My manager, team and mentors have been absolutely excellent from the first day. Given me an idea of where they would like to see me in x months time and providing the tasks, knowledge and support in order for me to get there without any issues. As a whole the company seems to all follow this good natured approach to welcoming new people to the organisation. There is great support no matter who you turn to (recently sat and had a chat with the technical infrastructure manager with a virtualisation issue I was having, this was off of a general chat we were having, so the help and support does not stop with just my team but across the organisation). Our employer has also made a point of trying to keep the recent intake of apprentices in contact (we work across different sites), this is by attending and presenting a quarterly "apprentice showcase" where we get the change to show what we have learned as well as take the opportunity to invite people from other areas of the business in order to gain knowledge about what they or theirs teams do.

The support is pretty good, as mentioned previously there was a shaky start to the year however this was quickly resolved by our apprentice development manager and the training provider. We worked together to figure out where the growing pains were and changes were made to come out the other side with zero issues. Also the technical skills coach from our training provider is great, very supportive with a great attitude and consistently shows a great passion for his job and genuinely wants us to succeed. Also the lecturers (during our module workshops) have been showing the same passion whilst also delivering excellent training and knowledge.

The type of work which I do does not require a networking degree, however it is great to know as it does help with issues when setting up servers/infrastructure. This will enable me to achieve a great future career in either area as time goes onwards, the best way I can describe it is I am receiving training and skills which would apply to 2 different, but closely related job roles.

Our work place is based in a science park, which there are regular campus wide emails sent out about 1 or another social/networking events being held at various buildings. There are also various local sports activities that are located within the science park which are also promoted. Finally there are various clubs and activities within our own workplace. So far I have came across the yoga club, the football club and also the rounders team (who I'm told are pretty good!)

Yes

The amount of things I have learned in my first 6 months has really impressed me, that coupled with the support given and the variety of tasks available means that every day is an interesting day at Jisc. This coupled with the degree program has made this a perfect package. I would definitely recommend Jisc to family and friends!

Be yourself and be open about your passions and future goals, this is what I found they were looking for, people who want to build a great career and skillset and will be a major driving force in helping you achieve this. Don't just apply, take a look at their website and services they offer (there is a huge range!) and you'll soon see that this is an interesting and rewarding place to work at with plenty of future growth.