In November 2022, MASS gave me an opportunity to pursue my passion for a career in software engineering. Coming from an electrical engineering background, I was lacking some of the skills a software graduate may already be equipped with, such as agile/waterfall and databases. However, MASS did a great job of helping me overcome these challenges by creating a training plan that catered to my needs.
I was given the chance to go on a course at the start of my employment, which helped build up my foundational knowledge. In addition to this, I also enrolled on the company’s Graduate Talent & Development scheme which helped improve my soft skills, such as presentations and time management. These are quite important for a software developer as they enable me to communicate better and deliver sprint goals in a timely manner.
I work within a team of bright senior developers, who have all been very supportive of my development. Everyone was aware of my non-software development background and took extra steps to help me understand software logic and implement best practises. Having this family-like support system greatly increased the speed at which I have grown, as there was no fear of embarrassment.
Working as part of a Scrum team was a new experience for me; teaming with various individuals who collaborate on an idea to bring forth a complete product. Scrum is agile so we are always evolving our processes depending on the requirements and stakeholders needs. I enjoy it as it is flexible, which gives us a chance to deliver the best product possible.
I have worked on many different projects since joining MASS, allowing me to gain experience in a range of areas from JavaScript to C#. Manipulating databases and creating GUIs are some of the work I have done. Problem solving skills from engineering have allowed me tackle some of the tasks with a logical thought process, but a few things can be quite abstract in programming, which is a why a good grasp of fundamentals helps.
Looking back on my time at MASS so far, I have been fortunate to get a kickstart into software development with the help of MASS’s resources. I have been able to continuously develop myself. I hope to continue developing my skills here and absorb knowledge from senior colleagues to further my development as a software developer.