Mainframe Software Engineer Review

I write/update code on the mainframe that handles customer accounts and deals with transactions on a daily basis. During any time that I don't have any projects I work on the DevOps initiative that involves using modern tools to automate development processes in the team.

My communication skills have increased greatly as projects require constant updates by different members and being able to articulate your ideas is great to keep projects moving forward. I've learnt several technical skills that have allowed me to progress in my job role and become an wanted member.

I enjoy working for my employer as they give me lots of opportunities to grow through personal skills and also technical skills. I chose an apprenticeship as I didn't want to go to university and whilst I only go part time, I still don't particularly enjoy it.

Each university year we have set topics which depending on the job role you have are/aren't useful to you. As I'm working as a Software Engineer, the business based topics don't really do anything for me but as I'm working on a mainframe, there is a specialized topic just for us.

MY employer gives me as much support as I need. My team are always willing to help me when it comes to understanding a system we have or I am given more time if needed to work on my university assignments.

The university lectures provide all the support they can with extra content available on the moodle page and we can email them if we have any concerns about assignments. There is another team that supports the apprentices and issues can be escalated to them if necessary.

There are a handful of topics that appeal to me and my job role. Unfortunately this means that I need to also work on the topics that have no affect on my job role as they cater towards other jobs roles. This is understandable as they need to accommodate for everybody.

Barclays has lots of events that you can participate in, these can range from sports days to professional discussions from other IT companies such as Google. There are also team based activities that can be created by team members such as a quarterly team meal.

Yes

They provide joiners with the hardware they need to do their job. They also provide extra help such as optional certifications for IT technology if you wish.

Some companies don't necessarily look at what you can do but more what you are capable of. Interpersonal skills are a great way to show what you are able to do and can help boost your chances of being accepted.