Computer Science Journeys: Abigail

How did you get into computer science?

I have always really liked using computers and playing around with them. When I was in primary school, I spent time making Powerpoint quizzes where you could click a hyperlink, and it would tell you if you got a question right or not. My dad is also an IT Manager, which helped me develop my interest further.

When I got to secondary school, I chose to study it at GCSE and also A level, alongside electronics and maths. I have always really enjoyed the more maths-based subjects so computer science felt like a natural choice for me.

What made you decide to choose a degree apprenticeship over a traditional university course?

I have always learnt better by doing, so I knew I would get more out of it than just going to university, and it’s an added bonus that you get to work while studying. You also normally have a guaranteed job at the end of it; it just depends on the grades you get or the company you are working for. It is a lot of work, but personally I think it’s really worth it.

What does a working day in your placement look like for you?

Normally, I have daily meetings to discuss what I have completed, what we're working on, and any blockers so we can help each other. Throughout the day, I will do some coding for the project I am on, and I will also review code other people have written.

As I am a senior member of the project we are currently working on, I will help in discussing new features with the product owner and other team members.

How do you balance the in-placement work and the university work?

On Tuesdays, I have all my lectures at Chichester, so I head to the university then. I do two modules a semester. Normally, for the first half of the semester, it's mainly lectures with some coursework in between. We can’t start the assignments until later on, so during the second half, I will spend time working on my assignments during the evenings and on weekends.

However, if I am struggling, I can spend some time at work doing them. I just need to speak to my line manager first, but they are really supportive. It is stressful sometimes, but it is worth it in the long run. I probably would have struggled the same had I gone down the traditional route.

Do you have a project you're most proud of?

The project I’m most proud of was a Project Status Review (PSR) automation tool that ran nightly, drawing data from multiple sources, compiling it into more useful graphs or metrics, and then uploading it to a shared space. I did almost all the programming for it, from database to front-end, and it was great to see people using code I had written. It allowed me to learn lots of new skills, including React (a JavaScript library) and REST APIs.

What were the things you found most challenging when studying computer science, and how did you overcome them?

Really, anything you have to memorise to learn; if that is the only way to take it in, that’s a challenge. I prefer to learn the concepts behind something and I am a much more practical person, so I am more likely to do something that is more helpful.

At work, I don’t feel like I need to memorise everything; I can ask my team members or Google it. As long as I know where to find something, I can work on it. But back in school, I did struggle as I could only memorise things for a very short period of time, like just before an exam.

One thing I really like about my course is that there aren’t many exams. I am well into my third year of a four-year course, and I have only had one exam so far. For me personally, I think that is really good as I don’t think exams are necessarily the best way to show that you can apply the skills you have learned.

However, when I was in college, I would read past paper answers to figure out what the examiners were looking for and structure my learning that way. I would also speak to my dad and ask him lots of questions, as I wasn’t always the best at asking questions during class, to help me understand the topic further.

Did you have a moment where you found something that you really enjoyed?

For me, it was being able to make something and see it working.

At work, I really enjoy automating different tasks with Python. For example, if I have to do a menial task, I will look to find a way to do it in Python instead. When I was in college, I vowed never to do front-end work, but now that I have come to Continental, I have been working in front-end development but with a different language and it is something I have grown to enjoy.

How do we encourage more young women to study computer science?

I think opportunities for women to get hands-on experience in the subject are really important. I went to an all-girls school, and there was a bit of encouragement to get involved in STEM subjects: there would be the occasional talk from a woman in STEM, but they never actually did anything to get us started.

There also weren’t that many engineering subjects available. I was lucky to be able to do computer science as it had only been taught at my school for two or three years prior.

I think actually having the chance to do those engineering subjects in school would help bring women in. I would really have liked to explore more sides of the subjects during school, but it wasn’t offered.

Do you have any advice for students?

If you know you want to go into computer science, I would definitely recommend considering doing a degree apprenticeship. However, if you do want to go to university, I would say do a year in industry as it is really helpful to see how the things you will learn about are applied in the workplace. You will also get to learn skills that you wouldn’t learn while on your course, like how a project works and is managed.

Also, try different things in the field that you are interested in; as I said, I hated doing front-end work at college, but now that I am here, I really like it, so you may find something unexpected that you enjoy.