Associate Software Engineer Review

The transition from university to placement was tough at the start. Everything was new, and very overwhelming in the first couple of weeks with orientation and training. But once I had settled down and got assigned to a project, I had a wonderful year ahead. My roles included radio and apps testing on pre-launch 3G and 4G mobile devices, use vendor logging tools to take logs of any issues observed and manage defects in a nominated management system. Every week would be different in terms of the quantity and variety of mobile devices being tested, and by the end of it all I became an expert with them! I had the opportunity to meet a lot of new people and gain a vast amount of experience and knowledge from my colleagues. This helped me enhanced my skill sets in a way that I had not expected to before placement.

I worked as part of a small team on my project. We were very closely knit which helped the team function well without any issues. At the start I received a valuable assistance to make sure I knew my role and responsibilities. This helped me establish myself in the team and feel like I was one of them very quickly which helped me thrive and perform my best.

My line manager was a pleasure to work with. He was very approachable and had a calm influence on the team. His dedication to getting the job done accurately was superb, so if I was under-performing he would let me know straight away so I can improve that aspect as soon as possible. Part of the job involved flying out to Ireland, 3-4 times a year, for some testing and an engineer would have to go there on their own and plan the activities accordingly with no professional setup as there is here in England. He gave me the responsibility to do this within the first month of joining which showed the trust he had in me. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip as it was a success and felt it gave me the right confidence levels for the year ahead. Gradually, I was also entrusted to lead most radio test projects that came in which was one of my proudest achievements.

As a radio and apps tester for mobile devices, planning for the day would be a nightmare. On a sunny day example, the workload would be managed well for the day so that you work the full quota of hours. Some tests were intense and would drain you out, but the other remaining tests would make up for the intense ones. But, things such as correct updates not being rolled out, or faulty handsets being delivered would stall the work flow for the day and therefore postpone projects. This meant that time to time we would either be catching up on projects or be ahead of the game. Therefore it can be said that it was either very busy or just quiet and no in between. However, when it was quiet there was always work to do or something that may suddenly pop up so you would always have to be alert which I found enjoyable.

As part of a small team, you feel the responsibility and importance of your presence right away. I felt very valued as a member and was appreciated on a regular basis. This was because the work I did was vital for the apps test to commence. If my work was not completed on time, it would delay the apps test costing the client a lot of money. So that pressure gave me a great sense of responsibility and made sure that I would perform to my very best. Adding to this, I have also mentioned earlier about the trips to Ireland and how I became the test lead for radio projects.

At the beginning, training was split into two: development and testing. One set of interns were assigned to development, while another to testing. I was put into testing. I felt that just by doing testing I would not be gaining too much to assist me in my studies as much as someone who did development training would. Though, my understanding of how testing works and is used in industry showed me that the work ethics can be applied to any aspect of life. This has helped me gain transferable skills for life that I can use beyond my degree as well as in. For example, currently I am doing my final year independent project and have used the time management skills gained from testing in this. The testing section of the project has also been done to industry standard as I remember the techniques used to set up test cases.

Due to the majority of my time being spent on radio testing, I was out of the office a lot. This meant that getting the exposure to the office life was very minimum. Some of the radio testing that was carried out in office was conducted in a special lab so that was also away from the other team members. Having said that, the atmosphere while I was out radio testing was brilliant because personally I like travelling about so it the change of scenery everyday was pleasant. When I did find myself working in the office on apps test, we were all very indulged in the work that was being done so interactions would be short and simple.

I felt the placement was very professionally setup and really did make you feel like you were part of something very big. My only concern was with the way the training was sorted as the typical intern did not have a choice in what they wanted to do. But I can see why this is the method of assigning training so it was nothing major. All admin related areas were managed seamlessly as well and I did not feel like I had any troubles with this aspect of the job, because being new to the professional life all of this could feel overwhelming.

I received testing training at the start which lasted 3 days. The course itself was very useful, despite being very condensed. At the end of it, we had to take a test which had to be passed, otherwise it would stall the process of being assigned to a project. This was followed by specified Accenture training which covered 7 working days. I feel that it was a great taster and very much helped me transition into the testing project I was later assigned to. Throughout the year there are several opportunities to go on the Accenture website and look for training courses yourself. This then depends on the individual and whether they have the time to take the courses, but the options are definitely available to take charge of your own career.

I was accepted onto the graduate scheme with Accenture. It all comes down to how well you do on your project(s) and the impression you leave on the client(s). With me, I only had the one project so I managed to gain a good relationship with the team and client to be recognised of my efforts. I was offered to come back to Accenture after I complete my studies on the penultimate day of the placement year so I did feel that they value their employees tremendously.

For the whole year I was based away from London, which was where the majority of my fellow placement students were. Most of the times it would become a hassle to get down to London to join up with them but it depends on the individual. I do feel like I missed a great chance to socialise with fellow placement students, but at the same time I was enjoying the job so it made up for it all. There were many social gatherings within the company I was working with so that was great. It is basically pot luck at the end of the day, but it will not be the same for everyone. For example, a fellow student, from the same university I go to, went on three different projects whilst on placement at Accenture all based in London.

I moved from an area where costs of living and socialising were much cheaper than where I was based on the project. Renting a room in a below par house cost me £360 excluding utilities which was an unwanted rise from my previous cost of living. Though as I had Tesco Express and Asda just a few minutes away from me, this helped me save well on food. Gym costs were also subsidised so cost of socialising was affordable. However, due to the perks Accenture offered, I was being reimbursed for accommodation so felt that my expenditure was being controlled well.

I was living close to a university, so the nightlife was great. The town centre also had a club and quite a few pubs/bars which were very busy. However, the routine the job had me fixed to, and without my usual company, meant that going on a night out just did not feel as great as it would whilst at university.

I am a very keen on sports and also enjoy other fitness activities. One of my colleagues introduced me to a local leisure centre and we would head there on weekly basis to play some Badminton after work. I was going there quite regularly due to the gym and swimming pool. Occasionally, a few of us would also go and watch some football on the big screen.