Systems Administrator Review

My role involves administering mainframe systems, assisting customers with issues and applying maintenance. I am allowed to work freely on project that I think will make my team/department more productive e.g. new website, automated processes. I am sometimes required to go into data centres to build and maintain machines. Daily, I am required to attend a scrum meeting with my team but other than that, I don't have that many meetings in a normal week.

When I first joined IBM I could barely write a hello world program but after 1.5 years I am confident in coding in at least 3 languages. I learnt to code by needing to code in my role and figuring it out along the way. I have found that the process of trying to figure out how to do something as you are doing it is the best way to learn. Through my apprenticeship program, I have obtained the Java Oracle Certified Associate qualification as well as a Software Development Lifecycle qualification. I have also attended internal training courses on web development, IoT workshops, AI seminars and much more. As an IBMer, I have ample opportunity to pick up new skills and earn qualifications.

I have found my apprenticeship programme to be challenging but rewarding. Though it does require a lot of work, I have learnt so much from doing that work. Very few times during the programme did apprenticeship work feel like a grind which is a good thing. As a young person working at IBM, I have found the culture to be fantastic. Contrary to what I previously thought, IBM has an established community of early professionals made up of apprentices, interns and graduates. The company provides break rooms with pool tables, PS4's, arcade machines and more.

My programme is well structured, IBM gives all apprentices an extensive induction to the company in which you are informed about training you'll receive, the company and many other things. The firebrand programme could be organised a little better, I didn't fully understand the programme's criteria until halfway through the apprenticeship. The support given to me at IBM has been excellent from my manager, learning mentor and team. The support from my firebrand learning mentor has also been excellent.

From IBM itself, the support I've received has been excellent. From the start of the apprenticeship, I was given a foundation manager, learning mentor and firebrand learning mentor. I could go to any of these people for help & advice at any time. The attitude towards support from my team has also been excellent, with extra time given to me to work on my apprenticeship any time I needed it. My manager has also mirrored this attitude.

Fireband provides accelerated learning courses before qualification which I found to only be effective when the learner has substantial prior knowledge. Aside from this, preparation for qualifications is very much left to the learner to do independently. I found this to be very challenging and thought that firebrand could have provided more support in the preparation for qualifications. Preparing for substantial qualifications such as the Java OCA was the most challenging part of my apprenticeship.

I think that the knowledge and skills gained from the apprenticeship have absolutely improved my performance in my role. My productivity has increased substantially since starting at IBM. Coding skills that I learnt from the apprenticeship has certainly helped me to build automation and work on extracurricular projects in my role. I now have a comprehensive knowledge of my role and industry which I did not have before. Soft skills taught by the IBM induction prepared me for my role

IBM is full of extra-curricular activities to get involved in such as various sports teams e.g. badminton club, HIIT group, running club... social activities like board game clubs and networking events like organised trips to the pub/bowling alley. An example of a community I am involved with is the MakerSpace which gives all IBMers the opportunity to use VR, 3D Printers and other exciting tools to make things.

Yes

Excellent work-life balance, the company has a very good awareness of the stress that work can cause and is very empathetic to this. Very competitive salary, especially for apprentices. The skills that you'll learn when working in an IT role will be at least equivalent to if not greater than the skills you'd learn at university. You'll meet other like-minded early professionals and get involved in the various IBMer communities. I can't recommend the company enough

If you're thinking of applying but are worried about committing to something as a career, I'd say this - no one knows what they want to do for the rest of their life but you won't find what you enjoy if you don't try different things. IBM is an excellent place to work and if you find it isn't for you then that's okay, there is no obligatory commitment to stay with the company after the apprenticeship is finished.