What are your main responsibilities as a DevOps apprentice at Software Solved?
My main responsibilities revolve around the use of Azure DevOps to Create CI/CD Pipelines. As I’m still in the early stages of my apprenticeship, I spend most of my time learning all things DevOps helping me become a valuable team player.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in DevOps?
I have been interested in software since childhood. I really enjoyed playing Mario games and I would try and dissect how pressing “A” made Mario jump and who had made that happen behind the scenes. This sparked my imagination, and I wanted to explore it further.
I was very lucky to be born at a time when the internet was just taking off in a big way. By the time I was in primary school, I could search the web for “how are video games made” and fortunately for me, my parents both worked in web development becoming another invaluable resource in my quest. I would often be looking over their shoulders as they wrote HTML; armed with lots of questions about how it all worked.
I took Computer Science as an options subject at secondary school and stepped into the male-dominated world of IT. I felt there may be an advantage of being a girl here, as employers seek to fill their diversity quota.
What have you learned during your time so far as a DevOps apprentice?
So far in my apprenticeship, I have learned how to use Git, basic knowledge of Azure DevOps, SQL and C# and I’ve just been introduced to PowerShell. Every day is a learning opportunity for me and I’m still very much in the early stages of the apprenticeship programme, but my confidence has grown and it’s super helpful to have a mentor in Jon. I feel supported and able to ask lots of questions!
How do you stay up to date with industry trends and best practices in the DevOps sphere?
My apprenticeship is naturally teaching me about the latest technologies, but outside of that I follow a few DevOps groups on LinkedIn and have recently joined the Dev.to Community.
What made you choose an apprenticeship now?
I’d done some web development and technical support in a previous role which I really enjoyed and decided that my limited knowledge could do with an upgrade. That led me to find the opportunity at Software Solved as a Level 4 DevOps Engineer Apprentice and decide to go for it!
Apprenticeships have always been on my radar since finishing college – having two parents who participated in Youth Training Schemes or YTS when they were younger – the original apprenticeships – and seeing the benefits they gained by getting a boost in their careers. While I was furloughed during the pandemic, I applied for and was offered a Level 3 Software Development apprenticeship, which at the time I turned down – two years later, I was job hunting again and I was worried I’d missed my opportunity and it was too late for me to pursue an apprenticeship, but fortunately, I was proved wrong.
Are there any specific achievements or accomplishments you’re particularly proud of?
In May of this year, I was ranked leaderboard #1 for the C# Skill in my apprenticeship provider’s online learning platform, and in June I got my first CI Pipeline up and running for a real-world project. Seeing all those green ticks popping up after all the trial and error of the process was very rewarding.
Find out more about the people at the forefront of what we do on the Meet the Team page.
