Meet our Academy Consultants – Sam Neal
Read about Sam’s transition from the Ten10 Academy to his current role as a Junior Product Owner
The Ten10 Academy provides high-quality tech training for individuals from all walks of life. Take Sam for instance, who went from a degree in Chemistry to starting his new tech career with a chemical company as his first client! We had the chance to talk with him about his journey, from joining his client for the first time to how he seizes every opportunity to continue building his tech expertise.
How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?
It went really well! There was always going to be a bit of imposter syndrome at the start when you’re getting used to a new role, but I felt very well prepared for a business environment.
Take us through your placement – what client teams have you worked with and what specific projects have you been responsible for during your placement?
I work for a chemicals company that is currently trying to modernise and streamline their customer services. I work in a program called ‘Customer Care Excellence’, implementing new software for their teams globally, so there are a lot of people involved. We are one main project team, but we have interactions with IT managers from at least 30 different countries, so we have lots of meetings.
What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?
My actual role is a Junior Product Owner and before Ten10 I wouldn’t have known what that meant! The training that helped me the most was the more business-facing training, such as Project Management and Product Owner, which is defining the new requirements for a system. It’s also good to have broad background knowledge of technical things too so I don’t get lost, and also learning how to be professional in the workplace.
What is a normal working day or week for you?
Great question. It changes quite a lot. Every day we have a stand-up in our small team, we talk about what we did the previous day, what we have on our list for that day, and how we are going to do it. I obviously check my email and messages, and then lots of meetings. We get as many people as we can from around the world and make big decisions on defining requirements for our system – but every day can be different, usually revolving around chatting to people around the globe!
Has your role and/or responsibilities changed during your time on placement?
Definitely, I have a lot more responsibility now. I’ve been there for six months which I think is a big growth phase, because when you start you don’t have much of an idea what you’re doing! But now I might lead a meeting, I speak to all the people using the system every day and ask them what they need, whereas initially, I was supporting other people.
What technology, tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting client work?
Because it’s not a directly technical role, there isn’t a lot of new technology. There are a lot of office-based things, such as project management software. There’s one called Smartsheet which is a more interactive version of Excel, where you can track what you’re getting up to. Because we are implementing all this new software, I have to understand how all of it works, so it’s this big customer service company called SAP, and I have spent six months trying to work it all out – that’s probably the biggest type of new technology for me.
How has your client supported your development?
I have a mentor who is in a similar part of the business, where we meet once a week and he teaches me anything I need to know. When I started there was a lot of training we were encouraged to do in order to understand the systems. I also have a 1:1 with my manager every two weeks, so they are really keen on making sure I’m developing which is great.
What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?
I feel pretty comfortable with my client so don’t need too much support from Ten10, but I have a really good relationship with the people in Wellbeing, so I know if I ever need anything I can drop them a message. A few times I’ve been travelling for the company I work for, and Ten10 sort that out for me. It’s also great to know when there are socials going on and I’m always welcomed into the Ten10 office when I come in as I live locally!
What would you say to someone considering joining the Ten10 Tech Academy?
Definitely do it! I didn’t come from a tech background at all so it’s given me so many more opportunities than I would have had without it. I’ve met some really nice people, one of whom I live with and also work with. You’ll learn a lot, meet loads of new people and set yourself up well for a role in the tech world. For me as well, I did a Chemistry degree, and now I’ve ended up through Ten10 in a chemicals company, which I wouldn’t have been able to work for without Ten10 – so I’ve kind of come full circle which is really cool.