Meet our Academy Consultants – Juan
Learn how Juan landed his client role through the Ten10 Academy, despite never working or studying technology prior to joining us
The Ten10 Academy offers a range of training for anyone with an interest in tech. Take Juan, an ex-sales assistant who is now learning new technology skills every day, which allow him to flourish in his career.
How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?
It was a really smooth transition. Despite never working in this industry beforehand, both the client and the Academy really helped me delve into this world and develop myself into a professional role.
Take us through your placement and tell us what client teams you’ve worked with
I work with a client situated mostly in the financial sector, providing services outside of the UK. They have a range of teams, each focusing on a different aspect of the application the agents use, to provide a successful service to the customers. My team is mainly focused on the application used to sell the financial services and solutions. I work on a couple of major projects, one of which is always looking for new development and features for the clients, also subject to changes in regulations, etc., due to the sector it’s in. I’ve also been part of a project that supplies additional services, such as enhancements to the contracts or migration of the new products with updates. The newest project is adding insurance to the application, which I am working on now.
What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?
The training involving the development process has definitely been the most useful within my placement, such as the Agile approach, which is what the client uses a lot. Knowing the different terms from basic to advanced has been especially helpful to keep in the back of my mind. Overall, though, learning the general behaviour on how to present yourself within a workplace atmosphere has been so crucial and very significant for development in a career. How to approach a difficult situation, how to present yourself, or how to manage tasks has been very valuable. Knowing testing skills as well on the side has also been helpful, even though I do not directly work within that field.
What is a normal working day or week for you?
It depends on where in the project cycle we are, really. I listen to a lot of feedback and do a lot of final polishing of a project. When I’m in the middle of a project, I like testing myself in different ways and trying new things to see what works, pushing myself in any way I can to improve.
Have your roles or responsibilities changed during your time on placement?
Officially, my role has stayed the same as a mobile developer, but over time, I have been given a lot more independence to do things myself after watching or shadowing. I’ve also noticed that throughout picking things up myself, I’m now able to help others and provide knowledge and advice to others who may need it, due to not having some of the experience that I have just yet.
What technology tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting your client work?
My client mainly uses C# for developing their applications. It was very easy to pick up and the more I work with it, the more I learn. We also use something called Samurai, which allows you to develop mobile applications.
How has your client supported your development?
They are great at talking through all the different aspects of any project I work on and I also have the opportunity to have one-to-ones with someone whenever I may need it. We have something called a Knowledge Sharing System where we can go through and teach eachother different skills or aspects of a project.
What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?
I have access to take part in any sort of technological course I want to do to enhance my skills, thanks to Ten10. We also have recurring catch-up meetings where I can speak to them about how I’m doing and if I have any questions or concerns, or need any help, either personal or work.
Have you received any extra opportunities through your client work?
My client works with charities regularly, and we also do a lot of socials, which I am really excited to get more and more involved with once I fully transfer to my client permanently.
What would you say to anyone considering the Ten10 Academy?
Go in with an open mind and try learn as much as you can. There are so many people there with different backgrounds, and you can learn from each other as well as the trainers. Be flexible with what you learn, and whatever situation you are in, you do not need to over-specialise!