Assistant Solution Developer Review

Overall, my placement at ProspectSoft was wholly enjoyed. As with every job there were highs and lows, but the former was certainly more prevalent than the latter.

At ProspectSoft, the placement students are given the same level of responsibility as those who are there on a permanent contract. There is also a very strong social bond within the company, which meant I really felt like part of the group. The only downside to this is how emotional it made finishing my placement!

In my department, there was always somebody around who I could ask for help, and if I wasn't told the answer directly (which was rare), they would always be willing to spend some time with me working things through.

Our time was very structured in terms that our time was 'booked' up in advance by project managers who allocated us work. If tasks weren't completed, more time was scheduled, and if they were completed early then other work was brought forward.

As the Operations department, we are responsible for producing software and business reports for customers. Work was allocated difficultly with no discrimination as to who was allowed to work on what. Placement students, if the opportunity arose, also had the chance to visit customers on-site. While the responsibility could be a bit daunting for the less confident (such as myself), it was certainly a comfort to know that you were trusted.

The technical work that ProspectSoft do, conceptually, is certainly useful and applicable to the industry, but with regards to the specific tools and techniques - not so much. The tool-set that ProspectSoft use is relatively niche (with notable exceptions such as Visual Studio). In terms of development, the type of development work we are asked to do transitions very easily into a good object-oriented structure, which makes it a very good starting point to brush up on your software design principles.

While the atmosphere in the office was always very comfortable, it was traditionally quieter than other departments.

ProspectSoft are very experienced with the placement scheme, having taken on many placement students over the years. The placement opens up with a month of intensive training, teaching you everything that you need to know. Beyond that, you are 'released' into your respective department, armed with all the knowledge you need to do your job.

The placement scheme, in addition to allowing you to graduate with a year's industry experience, also provides ProspectSoft with a year long interview. If you do well on your placement, and there are jobs available - there is a decent chance you will be offered a permanent position after university. This is an incredible weight off the average student's shoulders.

As mentioned above, ProspectSoft use the placement scheme as a year long interview, from which they cherry-pick the best placements to come back on a permanent basis. In addition to this, ProspectSoft also promote internally, which makes sure you always have something to work towards.

There were always event invitations whizzing through the building, from company barbecues and Mario Kart tournaments to squash and badminton matches.

Stokenchurch is a small village almost in the middle of nowhere, so the majority of us lived in Oxford which is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, it is also quite expensive. The placement salary offered by ProspectSoft is very reasonable though, so providing you budget properly it's not much trouble.

Having come from a city with a heaving night-life and working in a nightclub, I was disappointed with the bars and clubs in Oxford: they are somewhat more restrained.

As mentioned above, there were event invitations buzzing all over the office. Several of our department are quite sporty: there were frequent football and squash matches taking place after work.