CloudOps Apprentice Review

I am based in the cloud sector within the corps sector. Specifically, I work with tech that involves AWS along with programming resources and infrastructure that is then used by the wider firms. This involves terraform and Python if the backend is the focus and typescript if working on the frontend. I have also used other languages to deal with the serverless infrastructure, namely, json. Sometimes a day will consist of being sat in meetings all day, with a bit of admin here and there, but other days, I'm always busy

Loads. Learnt a lot about cloud based work and programming. As well as, cloud related certifications and then software engineering at uni. I've also learnt about the corporate areas of the business and how they interact with the tech based sectors and how they go hand in hand to benefit the business. I didn't know any scripting languages prior to starting and now I can code quite comfortably.

It's a varied experience - I really enjoy my day to day job and like getting hands on with work. That being said, the uni experience is quite mundane, as you'd expect. Although, credit where it's due, the uni lecturers are really good, and you'll go from knowing nothing on a subject to knowing all about it quite quickly. All in all, it's a really enjoyable experience, but quite demanding.

Quite well structured though there is some work to be done in this regard. The induction was fine, training is done on the job, and almost subconsciously - you don't realise you're learning. We each get assigned study days, where we're not expected to work except on university/extra-curricular tasks

Study days aside, team leads and managers are always flexible when it comes to studying and are more than happy to ensure that you're not falling behind on work, in whatever way that may be. Everyone is assigned a personal manager who has regular catch ups where any problems can be raised and dealt with.

A lot - study days as I mentioned before, afternoons dedicated to study every now and again and a flexible attitude when it comes to university. Some apprentices get 2 study days, but this is dependent on the sector you work in and how feasible such a thing is. Leads and managers are always open to making it as easy as possible to keep up with uni. Aside from that, there's a lot of financial support in external qualifications.

Somewhat. Because I don't sit in central software engineering the degree content doesn't directly feed into my work; that being said, the logic used to programme/code does feed into the cloud work in different languages. For example, java training informs you somewhat on writing Python programmes and terraform modules.

There are a lot of networks centred around hobbies or race/nationality/religion. One such example would be the KPMG Asian network which brings together all employees with Asian heritage. There's also sports clubs like the netball club and the football club which are open to all employees in the firm

Yes

Learning things that you didn't know how to do before, career progression in an industry leading firm, a real focus on employee wellbeing and being provided opportunities to further skill development. On a more personal level, the firm is global which allows for the possibility of working anywhere in the world, and many people in the cloud team have done so.

Be honest. You don't need to know everything and it's not expected of you either, just make sure you can prove you have a passion for learning. I'd also recommend getting experience in somewhere unrelated to your sector so you can carry over the soft skills into the programme you're applying for