I am currently in my final year at Newcastle University studying Computing Science. As part of my course, I completed a yearlong industrial placement at British Engines and have continued to work part time as part of the SharePoint team throughout my final year at university.
I am currently learning about programming, how to design algorithms and developing computer applications.
I found my placement here through a friend who linked me to the careers site. I applied and here I am 19 months later. The rest you could say is history!
I was given lots of responsibility from the start and had to learn very quickly which was great fun, especially with the amount of support the team all gave me. Everyone has made me feel very welcome and they are always on hand to help me overcome any problems I have. I have always felt like part of the IT family here and applying for my placement at British Engines has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I found programming on SharePoint (a system we use to host a variety of bespoke business applications) a challenge at first, as it was something I had never done before. I was given a lot of training though and began to pick it up quite quickly – which was just as well as I have since completed a number of developments. I am always pushed to improve and learn on every project I work on.
I have to find time to complete my degree whilst working at British Engines part time and juggling a few developments on SharePoint. It can be difficult at times, but I always have my team to fall back on when the workload takes over.
My time at British Engines has contributed to me wanting to stay in application development in the future. I want to develop and maintain high quality programs that improve everybody’s lives.
Although my university life is due to end soon, I am hoping my qualifications won’t stop there, I want to earn my Microsoft Certificates and other development accreditations. I am in a great environment where I can continue to grow, learn and progress, so I am very happy with the choices I made.