Developer Review

Even though I was fairly new to the industry I really enjoyed how I was able to condense and become part of the company within a matter or weeks without feeling left out of treated any different to a permanent staff member.

It was slightly rocky for the first month and felt slightly unappreciated, however from then on I was delegated tasks as they came from my lead which could be something very basic taking a few hours all the way to task which took week(s). Most of the times the task would be enjoyable, or if I struggled I'd have someone to assist me. very rarely times would feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fantastic! Of course the supervisors and more experienced members of the team would also have jobs that they needed to do, however they were always happy to find time for to help me if I ever needed help, or pointed me in the right direction. They would actually prefer me to raise my issue than sit quietly.

On some days I would be so busy I'd have to be reminded that it was lunch time. On other occasions days would be slow with no work. We were recommended to use this free time as "training" which did get quite boring. There were mentions of delegating the placement cohorts time out to other team projects in the business but that didn't eventually happen.

I felt as if I was a member of the permanent staff. I was given access to all the Dev and testing site environments very early on and was eventually extended to the production environments after a few months. One of my early tasks were backing up a production database and deploying a new upgrade to the website. When my placement contract and I said my fair wells, there were a few members of staff who didn't realise I was on a placement.

Being able to take what I learnt from second year and turning that into real world experiences has helped me a lot in my final year. As my year is quite intense with coursework I have been able to use my skills to better plan my days better, I have learnt how to prioritise my tasks and where to look if I am ever stuck with an issue.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time on my placement due to how much fun I had everyday. The office is organised in a row like pattern where most of us either had our backs towards each other or facing one another. I was located with my team which meant that if any of us had an issue one of us would be able to turn to help. We would always have music playing throughout the whole office which either uplifted the mood or could get distracting. If you're fortunate to work on the support or systems team be prepared to hear the word "Nerf" a lot. Overall fun experience but if you get distracted easily or prefer to work in silence it might not work for you.

The first few weeks felt a bit like there was no structure other than watching training videos, however the first week we were given a tour of both the Uppingham and London offices and were able to meet a few members of the team. As it progressed we were given many more opportunities to participate in workshops and onboarding sessions just like the rest of the team. HR would also check up on us frequently and set up a few monthly catch-ups to see how we were doing. I would also have to schedule a placement visit by my personal tutor which MMT happily took out of their own time to cater for. As it got closer to the end, I wouldn't say they forgot about us, but we started to feel confident enough to not need to be baby sat anymore which was a positive.

From the beginning we were always being trained to go towards web development. As someone who only touched the main programming languages that were used by MMT prior this was very beneficial. We were also taught how to use the Content Management System and how to build websites utilising Kentico. This progressed into us sitting and obtaining our Advanced Developer Certificate from Kentico. Throughout the role there was always something to learn and someone was always there to help me along the way.

Without a doubt I would love to come back to MMT after I graduate. I loved the atmosphere, and how everyone is supportive and friendly. If you were ever in need of help in the work environment or not there was always someone who could support you. I loved the fact they understood my lack of experience and made me much more confident to strive further in my career. I mentioned to my line manager if there was a possibility of staying on for longer than the year and taking a gap out of university, however they nudged me in the right direction to complete my degree instead. As I made a lot of friends in MMT I could always see how happy members of staff were to be working here.

There were always a lot of activities going on outside of work. From pub clubs, sport activities such as 5-a-side, to even full blown parties. I had been invited to multiple tech events throughout my year on placement. This ranged from meetup-ups in London, Nottingham, and Leicester. As me and the cohort were quite close we did celebrate birthdays, however other than that due to being sat so close on our usual days we didn't really do anything much outside of work.

Uppingham has a high street and a Co-Op. There were a few places to grab lunch or go for a drink but you were very limited to choice. As you are on a placement salary you also have to be cautious of how much you spend so expect to get used to Co-Op meal deals or packed lunches unless you have a way to travel to the next nearest town. As I lived in a small farming village at the time there wasn't much around to do also. The rent was a decent amount as I was renting a room in someone's house, however I was able to still keep my costs down by home-cooking at my disposal. Commuting to work although doable, will be fairly hard without a mode of transport so you should factor that in as well.

Uppingham, or even the Rutland area as far as I'm aware didn't have a night life other than a few restaurants. Fortunately situated in the middle of Leicester and Peterborough meant that you were spoilt for choices if you were able to travel there instead. At MMT they would occasionally plan night outs such as pub crawls or parties which, if you were a drinker, would be a great way to socialise with other members of company.

Yes! As MMT was part of Be Heard at the time it would mean there were plenty of times that the company would host events for members of staff to attend and network with. One example was the 20th anniversary of the company, all members of staff including the placement cohort, were invited to celebrate the achievements of the company. We were also given many times to travel to the London office for work shops after hours. MMT also allowed us to become part of the Social Events Committee (SEC) which I think if you enjoy planning events, definitely should get involved.