Technology Degree Apprentice Review

At the moment I'm a software developer. This is just one of the many different roles I can take on as part of the rotational project based type of job it is. On a normal day, because I'm a backend developer, I'll start with standup where the team discusses progress and plans, and then I'll develop for the rest of the day, asking for help where I get stuck and deploying my code once it's working.

Definitely yes I have learnt new skills. Technically, I've been learning to use and be comfortable with languages and frameworks and technologies such as JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS, Postman, Amazon Web Services, Angular, Jest and so many more. Those are just specific to my current role, in previous roles I've worked with Java, and on more business-y roles it's been more of a soft skill set - things like Agile methodology etc.

I enjoy it quite a lot, but that isn't to say that there aren't bad times too. Sometimes it's difficult to know what to do or who to ask for something, but for the most part it's okay. There are loads of opportunities to learn and progress, it is what you make of it really.

The structure of the program is much more lenient than others seem. It's not rotational in the sense that you won't automatically switch into a new role ort experience every 6 months. If you start in a project that you enjoy and you pick things up quickly, you could stay in it for up to or even longer than 2 years, but if you're in a role that's not a great fit for you, you can leave after around 2 months, so it really depends.

A reasonable amount of support I think I receive from the employer. They try to give us spaces where we can express whatever our thoughts or feelings are toward the program but it can sometimes feel intimidating to speak up about something especially if you feel like you 're the only one with a certain issue, but this usually isn't the case.

Our training provider isn't great. The standard of learning is relatively low, and the support isn't really there. Lecturers are hit and miss, some are amazing but the majority aren't helpful or clear or useful at all. Disability services are also quite difficult to access and implement from experience.

Honestly? Not really it doesn't. I learn more in a shorter time like a week at work for example than after an entire term at university, but that's just the nature of the program that we're on. There have been times where there's been an overlap between my job and my uni modules, and it has helped to know a couple keywords etc. but other than that, it doesn't add much value.

So many! There are loads and loads of activities and groups to get involved with. Even throughout covid when I joined there were groups that were meeting online and tried to hold socials virtually. There are groups of interest, mostly around technical topics like what we do at work but also social groups like sports, or shared interests like travelling or books or even religious groups or that sort of thing.

Yes

Accenture is what you make of it. If the corporate world excites you, if technology is your passion, if you're good at taking initiative and getting yourself involved in things then it's the best place to be because there are so many learning opportunities and great ways to better yourself and get involved. But if none of those things sound interesting, then it probably just isn't the place for you.

It sounds super cliché but try your best to be yourself. That way you'll be assessing whether you like Accenture as well as them assessing whether they like you. Reach out to current employees and apprentices on platforms like LinkedIn and ask them about their job, what they like and what they don't like. It's a consultancy company so everyone has a vastly different experience, so be prepared to face that.