UX Design Degree Apprentice Review

I am learning my craft in UX design by rotating into multiple disciplines within UX such as Product Design , Service design , Content Design and Accesibility to make sure I have a wide ranging knowledge. I work within a Squad delivering Designs for EE’s E-Commerce pages for the EE app for Uk Customers. Whilst I’m learning expectations are still low which allows me to grow my knowledge and gain confidence.

Certainly, when I entered UX I had no pre existing knowledge of anything design so all skills I have learned are all brand new to me. I’ve developed both a mix of Work and Personal skills such as Design , Ethics , Stakeholder Management, Presenting and research since joining my job in 2022

My programme is a mixed one, I feel like I really like it as I get to learn a new craft and become better in Design. I like how the expectations are limited because it gives me space to excel expectations. Equally however , I feel that some of the Academical side of can be quite tedious.

The University side of my degree apprenticeship has been quite well organised and can be seen as a success. The layout of sprints and independent learning time works well and it’s easy to see. However at work , there are 11 other apprentices which has meant our programme has been poorly planned on various different stages. There was a lack of a plan when entering in 2022.

I receive a lot of support from my employer and that’s arguably the biggest strength of the way my apprenticeship is organised and ran. My line manager is always available to help should I have any professional or personal queries which is reassuring. I also have a wide community of colleagues who are massively supportive should I need them.

I receive a lot of support from Manchester Met should I need their help albeit this is very limited. My skills coach is great and is always super helpful in our skills review meetings which is a nice support. Lecturers are also really great for any queries about assignments and scheduled work.

My qualification has certainly helped boost my UX knowledge and give me an advantage for problems and tasks within the workplace which is great. I found the first year of my course super useful as it allowed me to grow my general knowledge of the subject matter but the 2nd year has been less useful thus far.

I regularly attend a UX networking event called Natter in Manchester (Formerly Northern User Experience - NUX) once a month on a Thursday evening which allows me to grow my knowledge and get to meet some great people who work in my industry and network with them , so it’s super useful !

Yes

Such a great company for early professionals to find their feet and grow their skills at the start of their careers. I’ve also never had a bad experience with anyone I work with , everyone is super friendly and keen to let apprentices grow their knowledge by giving them opportunities to learn and develop.

Getting an Apprenticeship at BT was quite challenging but my advice would be to look the part to get the part. Dress smartly for any interviews and just be yourself. The main reason the apprentices from my cohort were recruited was due to their personal characteristics and their enthusiasm they showed within the interview.