Student Desktop Support Administrator Review

I really enjoyed my placement, and feel that I grew into the role. There was a lot to learn initially, but as I became more comfortable with the simple things I was given more responsibility.

I feel that my contributions were valued by my colleagues on a number of levels. One way was end users thanking me and providing feedback through our helpdesk system. The primary way that I felt my contributions were valued was by the increased responsibility I was given by my Manager.

Although she was very busy, my Manager was always very supportive and willing to assist me with problems. My Manager also arranged an ITIL training course and examination which was a real benefit. It helped me to understand the wider picture of the department, rather than just the support aspect, and gave me a qualification which I believe made me more employable.

There was always something to do, and often too much to do. But you learn to prioritise and tackle the most important issues first.

I was steadily given more and more responsibility throughout my placement. To begin with I was shadowing others, even for very small tasks such as changing toners and configuring desktops. But by the time I left Apollo I had been given quite a bit of responsibility, and had my own projects which I was able to work on independently (although my Manager was always there to support and check on my progress). One of the projects I was given responsibility for was a trip to our German office to setup some systems over there on my own. Thanks to the way that my responsibilities were built up gradually, I never felt either bored or overwhelmed and, I always felt that I was adding value to the business. When I finished my placement, this process had gone full circle and I had a new student placement and IT apprentice shadowing me. This was very rewarding, and a nice way to finish my time at Apollo.

Doing a placement at Apollo directly benefitted me in a lot of ways both in my final year at University and starting my career. I was able to base my final year project on Apollo's systems which helped me gain further work experience, and Apollo are using my project to standardise and improve the efficiency of real systems. Being able to work on live systems presented extra challenges in my final year which enabled me to achieve a higher mark than if I had been working in a lab environment. After completing my project, Apollo offered me a graduate position at the company. I have now been working at the company for 4 months.

Apollo has one large, open plan office. It is a formal office, and although there are jovial moments on the whole it's a very serious place where people are focussed on their work. However, Apollo is a manufacturing facility so there are other environments which are very lively. We have a factory floor and warehouse where the radio is played and there is a more upbeat atmosphere.

No issues.

The company paid for me to complete an ITIL course, and we had an agreement where by any time I spent on the training system in my own time would be matched by Apollo . ITIL is a useful framework and, as previously mentioned, I feel it helps to make students more employable.

I never really left Apollo. I had arranged to do my final year project before finishing my placement, and stayed in touch through the academic year. In the final few months of University, when we focussed on our final projects, I was based at Apollo full-time. Apollo were very supportive and provided me with resources to help me with my project, and before completing my project had offered me a job. I started working full-time for Apollo as a Graduate Infrastructure Analyst a few weeks before my graduation, and have now been here for four months.

The students all stuck together, and I had a good relationship with almost all of them (6 in total, across multiple departments). I also became friends with a handful of my permanent colleagues. We shared lifts, and trains, into work and socialised outside of work.

I lived in Southsea/Portsmouth and either drove or got the train to Apollo. Train tickets are ~£90 per month, and rents are very cheap in the area. I was also a student in Portsmouth, so socialising at the weekend seemed very expensive but in reality it's a lot cheaper than most cities and there is a good nightlife.

In Havant, where Apollo are based there are a couple of pubs/restaurants and that's it. Not what I would call a nightlife. However, students would be best off living in Portsmouth/Southsea where there is a great nightlife, with three main areas for pubs, clubs, bars, and restaurants. Taxis are incredibly cheap, and Porsmouth is a small island so a cab from the centre back to anywhere in the city can be had for well under a tenner any time of night. If you live closer to Apollo (about 7 miles away) then a cab will cost about £15.

Nothing officially organised by the company, but as people become friends they arrange things for themselves.