Software Developer Review

I'm a java developer; I review and create code for applications and interfaces. This is done in an agile fashion on my team, where we have two-week sprints in which to do our work, and daily sprint meetings in which to review it. We then have retrospectives to assess the prior sprint on the first day of each, and planning for the next sprint on the last day.

Definitely. Growing up, I was interested in coding, and pursued it somewhat in secondary school and college - I've massively built upon this interest, and am now reasonably apt with Java and C#. I've also gained the day-to-day knowledge of managing a full-time job; things like professionalism, being punctual, and how to present yourself are all aspects of this.

It's honestly great, I get the best of the two worlds of apprenticeships and degrees, without the debt and a very liveable wage, which is set to grow each year. The company's great, very friendly, allow you a lot of flexibility and choice in what you do, and they have social club and such which does all sorts of things; I'd say I'm happy besides the workload sometimes.

Well organised; we each get a mentor within the company to guide us through its intricacies, and support our uni work. Our uni lecturers are generally good - we had an iffy first year with lecturer turnover being quite high, but have had a solid selection this year. They're also better at keeping us in-the-loop on university matters too.

Lots - mentors are very very helpful, and cater to the individual as required. CGI itself provides great resources, allowing you a day out each week even when lessons aren't scheduled (as long as term is on) to do university work. They also facilitate catchup meetings semi-regularly to try and catch issues early, and provide support in response.

It's been a little up and down, but is in the mend as of recently, the majority of the issues being out of the uni's hands, but still some issues, mainly in communication. That being said, the lecturers there work very hard, and have done their best to accommodate our needs as we raise them - overall very positive, and looking to improve.

Whilst little bits here and there might not be relevant, the vast majority of what we learn directly feeds into my work. For example, working with databases at uni has given me huge advantages in integrating them in the workplace. Overall, my education has helped me provide the company quality code and work, and has given me a good rounded understanding of areas that I might not cover in the office, meaning I understand the business better as a group of units.

Many, the sports and social club is fantastic. Climbing, cinema, board game nights, silent discos on the Shard, the variety is massive, and the prices very very cheap. Couldn't be happier with it, and once the current issues are well and truly over, we'll probably have a bit of saved up budget to splash! Networking opportunities arise quite commonly too, and nobody is above being sent an introductory email, everyone is friendly and open.

Yes

Quite honestly, in my opinion, it's the best option for young people wanting to get into the IT industry. Not only is it a world-class company with many varied opportunities, but it also has so much support for undergrads and grads. The degree apprenticeship is amazing and I can't quite believe it's an option - no student debt, a sizeable wage, and industry experience all in one.

I'd say get familiar with how the company works and its key statistics - always a good shout. Besides that, maybe find an employee on LinkedIn who'd be willing to have a chat about your opportunities, and find out what CGI stood for as a French acronym when it started! That's always an interesting bit of info.