DevOps Engineer Review

I work in a team with fellow DevOps Engineers and Developers in 2 week agile sprints; mainly on short term proof of concept projects. These can vary from being for external clients, or internal to IBM. Generally, I'm using technologies such as Github repos, Clusters and orchastration such as Jenkins. The general daily workflow begins with a standup meeting, where we see where everyone is at with their current tickets and if there are any blockers. Then we go off and work on them (sometimes alone sometimes with collaborating)

Before I started in I had no idea of the DevOps role or what it contained. After working at IBM for a time, I now have knowledge in a wide range of DevOps areas, such as working with clusters, automation with pipelines, source control with central repos, and (not unique to DevOps) organisation and time management, which I have found to be key.

I really enjoy the autonomy of working to create solutions to the problems set before me, using the knowledge and skills I have been learning since I joined IBM. Furthermore, I find the process of coming up against a new problem, going away and reasearing then solving it to be an extremely rewarding and interesting experience each time

In terms of structure, I would say that my programme is very organised. The university side of it is very well handled, it's alway clear what and when I am meant to be working on something. On the work side, regular goal meetings with my manager help me to always be aware of what I am aiming to achieve and by when.

I receive a great amount of support from IBM, from their regular learning sessions throughout the year, to their support on gaining certifications e.g. Microsoft AZ-900, they provided me with learning resources, practice exams, and a udemy course, such that I would be fully prepared to take my exam.

I recieve a large amount of support from IBM when I am working on my qualificatoin. Especially when it comes to the work tasks for my course, my collegues are always happy to help and provide me information on the workplace/ IBM's practices such that I can complete my work to the highest level

I feel that the learning for my qualification has given me a fantastic background and context of my role and sector, from which I can apply the knowledge to increase my effectiveness in the workplace. Furthermore, I find that the theory can give a good start from which I can research further myself on pertinent topics that apply to my day to day work

There is always some form of extra curricular activity going on at IBM, which can be anything from online learning calls hosted on webex on a variety of subjects, or it could be a 5 a side football match. The amount of variety is fantastic, whether it's for professional development, or just to relax with colleagues

Yes

IBM have been a fantastic company for me to start my career at. They have provided to much support in my personal and professional technical development, as well as having a fantastic culture to work in, with a really great dynamic between colleagues, which enables the work to be done faster, more efficiently, and more effective

I would encourage someone to ensure that they have at least a base knowledge of the software/ area they will be working in, such that they can answer any possible questions that may come up in interviews. Furthermore, they should have some external experience in an area similar e.g. previous work, or personal projects, for example, I had done some personal programming projects previously before IBM