Software Engineer Review

Within BAE Systems I work as an apprentice software engineer, this entails everything that the qualified engineers work on as we work on customer facing/live projects, so the work you do actually makes an impact in the company, my daily tasks are set at the team meeting we have daily, this happens just after lunch everyday and allows us to discuss progress and work with each other. As far as responsibilities go you are responsible for any work you have been given to do, there is of course the expected struggle and there is help if you need it as you are there to learn.

I have been in the company for nearly 5 months and I am impressed with how much I've learnt, not only from the University we are with but from working within the team, I have learnt how a development team works and what structures there are in place for dividing the workload, aside from the work, I have also found the University handle the virtual learning well, there id good interaction from the lecturers and although we are on block release they are still available should you need them, it can sometimes take a day or two to get a reply but that's nothing that's caused an issue yet.

I feel the programme isn't being shown to its best light for me yet, I am still enjoying it a lot, but the challenge of doing everything at home when I'm not certain on most things provides a bit of boredom waiting for people to be available to help, I feel that when we are allowed to work on site again the apprenticeship will go to a whole new level and will be a completely different experience for the bteer.

The apprenticeship is well structured in my opinion, we have a skills coach at each site to help us with the diploma and to make sure we are getting everything the company expect out of the university, this along with the project rotations makes sure you get a good mix of all the different stages of development and a feel for the different projects BAE work on, as far as the study goes we have block release to the university which happens between every 4 and 6 weeks, at the minute with the COVID restrictions we are learning virtually but usually go up to Preston and stay for the week.

I have found that BAE as an employer are extremely supportive, we are allowed time during the working week to work on our university assignments and any diploma work. We also have a skills coach to monitor all the work we are doing, this is inclusive of actual work and all diploma/university work. In project everyone is extremely understanding that you are an apprentice and there is work you won't know how to complete, the only time I have had an issue is when we had a team member off so we were all doing more work and I wasn't sure on most of it but that was accepted when I explained I didn't know and it was quickly fixed.

The university could be a bit more supportive but I have been told its usually a lot better when actually there although I can't comment on it as I have only done virtual learning. Most of it has been fine, there has been the odd occasion where we have pre recorded lectures which I haven't found the most useful as there is no way to ask for a different explanation if you don't quite get it, however with all the lectures that are done live via teams they work and they get recorded if you wanted to go back over something at later date by watching them, in terms of support they are there should you have any problems and there is an extension process should you need one (with a reason) and this is an easy process which I have used.

My qualification through the university is seeming helpful already towards my role, we have already been working on a project management unit which is helping me understand how the team works and I am spotting things being done that we have been taught about, the technical modules are also helping as I am learning the languages the company use, I personally don't feel ready yet to try and use it, but its helping me understand everything better and with more practice it will make even more sense.

As far as extra curricular goes they may be more available without the COVID restrictions I'm not sure, as apprentices however we do get involved in outreach projects where as a company we talk to different schools and get them involved in an easy engineering type activity to better explain BAE Systems as a company, these vary how they are run but they can be quite entertaining and very social, we also make sure to have social meetings as well as work meetings, this way we stay in contact with people, it's not ideal but when things are back to normal it will be better.

Yes

Its a very interesting place to work, you work alongside people that have worked on projects that you can see everyday, such as the London underground timetabling which from a development point of view is an amazing project, its a company that are looking into and making the future a thing and it's exciting to become a part of that, the only thing I would change is having a proper working environment rather than being at home but that's out of their control.

Give a lot of info on your application, sell yourself anything you do outside of development is an interesting point that makes you more noticeable and be prepared for the interview, as much as it is for a job so they are going to question you on technical knowledge based off what you said on your application, they are also interviewing you as a character, the point of the apprenticeship is to learn the role so as long as your willing to put the effort in and are yourself in the interview you should be fine.