Technology Graduate Programme and former Placement student.

Meet Ollie who joined us on our Technology Graduate Programme. Ollie tells us what his job involves, how he makes his day work for him and explains why it's sometimes important to get things wrong.

The job I do now can be summarised in two words: problem solving. Coding plays a big part in that, of course. But it's not always just problem-solving in code directly. It can involve looking at ways to improve the way a team works, or taking an idea to a set of requirements, and so much more. 

I like to start a little earlier – around 7.30am – so I can get some coding in before the first meeting of the day. This is usually with my team to discuss where we're at with our various projects. Then the rest of the day will be coding, code reviews and other agile ceremonies – and hopefully a game of table tennis, if I'm in the office.

Early on in my Placement I did a lot of pair programming with a senior engineer which was extremely valuable. They were really good at letting me fail in a way that ensured I learnt from my mistakes. Had they jumped in and stopped me before I'd taken a wrong turn, I wouldn't have learnt a thing. 

In fact, I'd say the best thing I've learned since joining Capital One is to take on work where there are big gaps in your knowledge, as those are the times you learn the most.