Andrew R.
About me
| Andrew R. | |
| Electronics | |
| Electronic Engineering | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Goodricke | |
| 2008 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Software Developer | |
| OpenBet | |
| United Kingdom | |
| 2010 | |
| £30000 | |
| £32400 |
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A day in the life of a Software Developer in the United Kingdom
My career history
After doing a summer placement at GE Aviation in Cheltenham in 2007, I was offered a job after graduation and started there as a Systems Engineer in September 2008 on a Graduate Scheme. By mid 2010, I decided that I wanted a change in career path and pace, and so joined OpenBet in Chiswick as a Software Developer where I have been since then.
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I hope to work in to a more technical management role, where I'm still interfacing with customers but managing a team of technical people, whilst still getting involved in the nitty gritty as well from time to time.
My advice to students considering work
Working hard is key, but you must also know how to have a bit of fun. All brains and no social life or hobbies really doesn't make you that appealing to an employer. Also if you have interests, its good to flesh them out, teach yourself some new things and then actually put them in to practice. Take on responsibility for things, like running societies etc, as this will help you understand some of the workings of business before you actually get there. Proactively look for work placements if you can -- almost all of my successful friends have done this. And remember it's not all about the money - you should find something you enjoy doing!
What I do
My responsibilities are wide ranging and my job is very diverse. As well as coding software, I regularly interface with our customers (bookmakers), answering queries and producing analysis for future development work. I also perform defect investigation in our software, as well as some performance analysis and even supporting the Production environment on occasion.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Mostly this was experience of web development and other programming done in my own time. Also experience in industry from my previous job.
Degree skills:
Good engineering practice, a solid logical thought process, as well as many of the soft skills such as presentation skills all have been highly beneficial.
Extracurricular skills:
I self-taught myself several programming languages, and over several years coded up websites for several small businesses as well as myself and friends and family. All of this gave me a working knowledge of websites and databases which was necessary for my current job.
What I like most
I'm given a lot of responsibility and trust to get on with things and a lot of flexibility and support to do everything to the best of my abilities. The working environment is vibrant, fun and friendly, which only adds to a great experience.
What I like least
It is very difficult to put anything down as a dislike within my current job. Perhaps as a very minor complaint is the expense of living in London.
What would I change? Whilst I don't think my initial job was what I ultimately wanted to be doing, I had an invaluable experience from doing that job and have taken much away from it. It is slightly frustrating that you effectively end up back at the bottom of the ladder when you switch career paths like I did, but ultimately through persistance and enthusiasm you can take any experience and put it to good use.
Next steps...
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