Application Development Associate Review

This truly depends on what happens throughout the placement - what project/s you end up choosing to work on, what your goals are, etc. For me, both the projects I've worked on were both good. The first one was within an internal department. They provided training on the technologies they use and I got to enhance my skills in web development through those and the project they made me work on. The same goes for the second project for a client.

I felt really valued by my colleagues in both projects I worked on. They treated me as if I am a permanent employee and not a placement student. They also valued my suggestions and opinions about the project. They always take it into account when it comes to decision making.

My managers were both supportive and were both very understanding. I've always told them what my goals were from the start and they have always been there to ensure that I get to learn and experience different areas of the application, and enhance my skills in order to get the best out of this placement.

This depends on the project I was working on. The first one, given that the project timeline was short, I was busy learning and developing almost everyday. The second project also depends on the amount of work that has been assigned to me. Most times, I am fairly busy. However, there are also times when I am done with all of my tasks and have nothing to do. I usually pick up tasks assigned to other developers, of course with there knowledge, as long as it's something to do with my line of work, or I do online training to enhance my skills further.

I would say I've been given a fair amount of responsibility. During the first few weeks, I was given tasks by the lead developer. But as I progressed within the project and was one of the full-time developer and the lead developer was not, I was one of the first point of contact with our line of work. I would make decisions and inform the lead developer, or if I'm not confident enough, I would usually consult with him.

The new joiner training was so-so. I didn't end up doing the pathway I was in but I've definitely learned something from it (e.g. testing, agile, etc) which have been or will be taught at university. When it comes to the project-specific training, it was much better as that was what I was going to end up doing in the project. I've learned quite a lot in my projects. My technical, analytical, management and communication skills have definitely improved.

I was in the same office for both of my projects. But for the second project, my colleagues were either stationed in the client's office or offshore. However, in the office I was in, the people there are welcoming and are nice. So it wasn't really hard to strike up a conversation and feel at ease. Also, we used to have some social events from time to time.

I would say that the organisation of the placement was so-so. After the compulsory training that we had to do, we were supposed to find roles with the help of the talent specialist assigned to us. However, the type of roles, demands of projects, and skill set that they need didn't really fit with my skill set at the time, as well as with what I needed to do for university so I've been on the bench for quite sometime.

I would say that Accenture does value employee training. They've given us compulsory initial training for placement students like me to gain insight of what type of work/s Accenture do. Moreover, they've also sent me to an external training for ISTQB BCS Software Testing Certification which was great. However, most of the training that I've done initially were not in the line of work that I've done on the projects that I've been on. Though, there were still training that was given to me upon joining the projects I got to work on. Also, from time to time, there are external certification training available, and other training opportunities that Accenture provides.

It's actually quite appealing. Due to the nature of work that Accenture does, you won't be tied to one role for the rest of the placement unless you prefer it that way. There are many roles to choose from. You can have a taste of being a developer, tester, business analyst, etc within the placement.

With my fellow placement students, we usually meet up on events like Christmas parties, community events, etc. But I haven't seen most of them. This really depends on where everyone is based, and if they have free time. As for my colleagues, there used to be game nights at the office but there's none anymore.

The cost of living is actually quite okay for me as I lived at home during the placement and I have never on a project where I had to be away from London. The travel cost is quite expensive but there's nothing I can do about that. As for socialising, it depends really. Socialising in London is quite expensive.

The office I worked on was in the bustling city of London. So there were countless restaurants, bars and pubs around the area. You'd see office workers gather around every Thursday and Friday!

Yes, there were loads which varies from joining different societies, helping out on events, volunteering work, recruitment work.