Who was your placement with and what was
your job title?
My placement
was with Accenture, a technology consulting company based in London. The job
title I was given was Software Engineer.
What attracted you to this placement
opportunity?
Accenture
is within the FTSE 100 companies and has 80% of the FTSE 100 as clients. This
seemed like a great opportunity to get plenty of experience at a range of
companies, each with their own unique challenges.
How did you go about securing your
placement and what was the process for this?
The University of Plymouth provided students with a list of previous employers and while
scrolling through this list, I spotted Accenture. After researching more into
this company, I found that they suited me and my ambitions. The process of
securing the placement began with me uploading my CV. After uploading my CV,
I was quickly shortlisted by Accenture. The next step was to answer a list of
competency questions and complete a small profile of myself to see where I
would best fit within the company. The penultimate stage was an online
programming challenge and a video interview. The video interview consisted of a
series of scenario-based questions, such as “If a project is falling behind
deadline what would you do?”. The final stage was a face-to-face interview in
London with a manager from Accenture.
Can you describe the various roles and
responsibilities of your placement?
During
my placement, I was involved in a number of different roles; these included: software
testing, robotic development, API and Automated Tested Framework Development, data
analytics and error reporting. On one project, I was also a Code Reviewer, this
involved analysing other developers’ codes and ensuring that they met the
standards required. I was also a junior team leader in another role, which saw
me in charge of two other developers with the aim of making sure we met
deadlines and kept to requirements.
How did the University of Plymouth and your
lecturers support you both before and during your placement?
The University of Plymouth provided me with the BPIE modules which helped prepare me for the
placement year. The BPIE module offered information including what was expected
of me over the placement year and a support network of tutors and contacts.
During my placement year, I had a number of visits and emails with my assigned
tutor to discuss my progress and next steps. This continual support provided me
with a set of goals that I set out to achieve during my placement.
How did your previous studies enable you
to be successful during your placement?
Throughout
my placement, I used the majority of Software Engineering techniques that I had
been taught at the University of Plymouth, which included Database Design, Class
Design, Object Oriented development and Design Patterns. I also feel that the University taught me how to be ambitious with my goals and to always
be curious and explore other avenues.
This
resulted in me having the confidence to use programming languages, which,
before my placement, I’d had no prior experience of using. Recognising the
opportunity to improve my knowledge base, I enrolled in courses during my
placement, which resulted in me developing new skills and also gaining
certification to evidence this.
How will your placement help you with the final year
of your degree?
The
placement year prepared me for the final year by providing me with a wide variety
of experiences in a number of different roles; from this, I was able to gain an
insight into the way businesses are looking at new technology and ways to
improve their current approaches. After finishing my placement year, I felt I
had direction and I knew which modules I needed to pick in my final year to
help me achieve my new found aims. On top of this, I was also inspired to come
up with a few ideas for my final year project and see which of these ideas
would be feasible.
In terms of your career development so
far, what have been the benefits of undertaking this placement?
The placement
year taught me how to interact with different people throughout the company at
differing levels and how to approach conversations to get the maximum amount of
information out of them. I also learnt key skills in presenting, correct
conduct in the workplace and most importantly confidence in my own skills and
ability.
What would you say to a prospective
student thinking about undertaking a placement year?
My
advice would be to take a placement year at a company that will provide you
with the opportunities to undertake a wide variety of problems, which suit your
degree. Take all the opportunities you can and try to get an idea of what it is
that you want to do and pursue post-university. You never know, with the aid of
the people you meet on your placement, you may be offered a role or advice on
next steps that you can take to advance your career in the future.