Software Engineer Review

I've really enjoyed my placement with Capital One! Its a super friendly and welcoming workplace. People seem to have a great attitude towards learning and development and always seem eager to help you learn something new. There has been a huge amount of focus on self-development, plenty of opportunity to get involved in corporate social responsibility programmes and just generally, loads of opportunity.

Absolutely. Our team regularly go for lunch together and have done on occasion a team breakfast. Beyond my team I felt super valued across the wider business and was asked to get involved across projects elsewhere in tech. Its a workplace where you can really feel valued on both a personal and career level.

My manager and peers have been super supportive throughout the placement especially on the learning and development side of things. I was also able to work flexibly throughout the placement which was hugely beneficial. While my manager didn't have a lot of technical perspective on the day-to-day stuff, I had a pair of great mentors who were always on hand to point me in the right direction.

I've never had a day where I entirely finish my todo list and have sat twiddling my thumbs, there's always something else to get involved in! I never feel particularly stressed - there's a lot of work to do but Cap One definitely succeed in accounting for learning and development time as well.

I've been given a fair bit of responsibility but it never feels overbearing. Throughout my placement my responsibility has increased inline with my technical ability growing. Theres a lot of more technically experienced people around you who are always happy to help out, but are equally happy to let you figure things out for yourself.

I don't think my placement will add much to my because my degree because a computer science/software engineering degree is a world away from the reality of software engineering. This is a good thing, because a placement has given me a huge amount of perspective on what working in industry actually looks like. I now have a ton of skills in: backend services, web frontend, cloud platforms like AWS and agile software development which my degree gave me absolutely no perspective on! I cannot recommend doing a placement enough!

Really positive! Its quiet enough that you can get work done, but also not eerily silent. There are some great open meeting spaces for more informal stuff and there are rooms available when you need a more focussed discussion. If you really need to focus there are soundproof pods you can use as well. Overall I'd say the space plays a huge part in the atmosphere around the office and keeps things super productive, but chilled out.

Mostly fab. Once here, it was super organised and I was given a ton of practical and more formal training in everything from technical/programming stuff, down to softer skills like presenting a piece of work. One thing which wasn't convenient was the time it took to get recruited. I initially applied at the start of November 2018. Took part in an online coding test in December. Completed a video interview in January and then attended an assessment day around March. Then I came back for two final interviews around April. While it felt great getting through such a long process the travelling back and forth could easily be inconvenient for someone looking to relocate during their placement. Especially as the recruitment process ran through two different coursework/exam deadline seasons.

There as been a ton of investment! As above, lots of training in everything from: Presentation Skills, Agile Software Development, Amazon Web Services, React/Redux Front End JavaScript, Testing. I also did some workshops on product design and marketing which weren't strictly related to tech, they really encourage placement and grad employees to look across the business at opportunities rather than being siloed in one domain.

Things are looking great! I'm actually not going back to university for my masters degree and more and plan to apply for Capital One's graduate scheme, so that I can continue working here. Its a great environment and a level of opportunity which I think few other organisations could compete with.

Yeah there is a huge amount of social opportunity both within and outside of work time. We have a 'fun day' each quarter where teams might do: an escape room, sports day or something similar. Tonight the grad/placement community are going for a meal and watching fireworks. Next month we've got a screening of the new Star Wars movie on release day (in work time). There's a ton of opportunities!

I commute each day but Nottingham seems fairly affordable. Capital One pay pretty well for a placement scheme so I certainly don't thing placement students would have any affordability issues, with or without their student maintenance loan on top. Nottingham also has a great tech scene if you're interested in meetups/hackathons etc and most of these are free.

I'm not a huge nightlife person but from speaking to other placement students and grads it seems pretty great! I'd say there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in things besides your standard nightlife too like sport/hobby clubs or charity work. Theres plenty of things nearby to occupy yourself with.

Yeah for sure. As above theres a bunch of sport clubs, an on site gym, Nottingham has a great tech scene too for hackathons and meetups. We have gradcom which is a society of sorts which puts on events for grads, interns and placement students. A lot of these event are funded by Cap one too which is great!