Technology Degree Apprentice Review

During university term-time, I go to university the same as every other student. I attend lectures, complete assignments and am take part in all of the wonderful extra-curricular opportunities available at university. While on placement, I've been working in a technology team, using software such as Alteryx, Tableau and Google Apps Script to automate other people's work,

I've learned to use several new types of software, such as Alteryx (in which I've attained an Alteryx Core certification) for data processing, Tableau for data visualisation, UiPath for building bots and Google Apps Script for writing code to interact with Google Workspace - such as Google Sheets and Mail. I've also gained professional skills of time management, organising meetings, networking and presenting in front of large groups.

My work is quite interesting, and I am often engaged in problem solving. I get to do a large variety of work, so am rarely bored of doing the same thing. My team is amazing - especially my manager who's very supportive. If you need help, people will be there for you, and there's no big pressure in my team to get things done. The company culture is quite corporate but not as intense as many other big companies - you can still wear casual clothes to the office, and chat about casual things. As a whole, I've really really enjoyed the programme and feel very lucky to be on it.

It's fairly well structured - especially compartmentalising the time at university and work so that you can focus on each at a time. The training is decent, although this depends on which team you're placed in. The support at University of Birmingham is fantastic, the Computer Science degree program is well taught with some amazing academics.

From my manager, I receive a lot of great support. From the Degree Apprenticeship team, the support hasn't always been great, unfortunately. But you can find the support you need from other areas, like the university, for example. The university has wellbeing teams and you are assigned a personal tutor, who is usually very helpful with any problems you might have.

Our Degree Apprenticeship skills are tracked using PebblePad - which is complicated and poorly communicated to us. This is one of the most annoying parts of the program, but fortunately it doesn't have that much of an impact on you. The university support you well to achieving your Computer Science degree.

The knowledge learned at university will make you a tech whizz, so you will easily adapt to the technology used at PwC. Your knowledge of code will also put you ahead when you join, as you have a skillset that not many others at PwC have - this will allow you to innovate new solutions.

At university, you can join any number of societies - there are hundreds of choices. The University of Birmingham has a great selection of societies and sports clubs; for example, I've been involved with Yoga, MMA and Muay Thai. At work, you can get volunteer for a few different initiatives, such as being a LGBTQ+ advocate, a race ambassador, or even get involved in the PwC Panto! I'm involved with the Sports Committee, helping to organise sports events for people across the firm.

Yes

This programme will give you the freedom to enjoy university to the fullest, because you won't have to worry about getting a part-time job, paying off loans or finding work experience. By the time you graduate, you will have almost 2 years of work experience, putting you ahead of most other graduates.

Expect the application process to be long - there are many steps and it's competitive as there will be hundreds, if not thousands of applicants! Just be authentic at every stage, if you try to be someone you're not, you might not be deemed as a good fit the role.