Data Scientist Apprentice Review

Item: Data Scientist Apprentice at Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Rating: 4.4
Author: Anonymous

at Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Level 4/5 Apprenticeship

Finance, Information Technology, Science

Stratford, London, UK

Review Submitted: April 2021

Overall Rating

4.4 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

4/5 - Overview of Role

5/5 - Skills Development

4/5 - Structure and Support

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:

4/5

This revolves me getting involved with projects within FCA as well studying my apprenticeship. I would get involved in meetings to help me understand the data I will be working with and what is specifically about, hence gaining knowledge about FCA. With Cambridge Spark, I attend online lectures every month (depending on dates etc.), we have assignments that will consolidate our learnings and any questions/doubts we have about the modules we are learning. We have few projects that involves FCA data which is to be submitted to the provider to give us an experience of what working life will be like.

To what extent do you enjoy your programme?

4/5

I am enjoying the programme as I am learning a lot of skills that (having been a former university student) wouldn't have gained in this programme. Working in a real-world environment gives you so much responsibility, in terms of getting work done liaising with colleagues when it comes to FCA projects. On the social aspect, you have friendly colleagues working with you and it is fun to get to know your colleagues outside of work.

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?

5/5

When I first started FCA, I was worried my skills were under-developed or not sufficient enough. However, as I progressed throughout my programme, I became in confident in myself as well as the skills I developed. There are training programmes that you may be interested in, provided by the FCA which you request. I gained in skills in Tableau and Excel which are not provided in the programmes and this will be of use in the near future for projects within in FCA. Here are a few skills I have learnt: - Analytical - Presentation - Writing - Python - Tableau - Excel

Structure and Support

How well organised/structured is your programme?

3/5

The programme is well structure, however if you are able to do a fast-paced course this shouldn't be a problem as the are lot of areas in data analyst/science course to cover within 1-2 years. The lectures need a bit of structuring as I personally think doing online lectures for 16 whole hours (8 hours in one day) is a bit too much and I suggest breaking them into 4-hour segments in 2 days with one lecture every 2 weeks.

How much support do you receive from your employer?

5/5

My employer has been really empathic and supportive towards my health situation (especially in covid pandemic). I have managed to get hints and tips on work I will probably need assistance on such coding or presentation skills.

How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?

4/5

My coach has also been supportive of my situation, and was able to give feedback on a regular basis on the goals I want to accomplish. It is hard to book an appointment on time so would advise to book 2 weeks prior. Furthermore, we would go through the goals and skills and how we would work on them with me on a 1-2-1 as well as with my manager so we are up to date on everything.

How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?

4/5

Mainly the skills I needed developing on such as my writing, presentation and other soft skills, which will be hard to develop a lot in university. Furthermore I gained a lot of technical skills which would be viable for a career in Data Science after completing the programme. Furthermore, I foreshadow other colleagues' work on a day-to-day basis so that this will help consolidate other areas I may improve and can get feedback on.

Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)

4/5

I have been involved in D&I group which is short for diversity and inclusion group. This is where we hold presentations and talks on how we more diverse people and have inclusion get involved within and outside of FCA. This expanded my knowledge and understanding of people from other backgrounds and be more open-minded than I am. We have social activities via video calls so we are not isolated from each other. There are local gyms around and colleagues that do exercises that you may want to get yourself involved in (probably not now due to covid).

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to a friend?

Yes

Why?

This company has great benefits such as private health care which has helped me especially in my mental and physical health.. FCA have great friendly people you can work with, get along with within and outside of work. There are social events that happen across time to have fun. There's a good balance with workload and free time/socials so you are not always working extra hours.

What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)?

Be yourself, have fun and work hard and you will get there. If you doubts or questions about the role, company, or your manager's role ask them they will provide a better understanding as they have far experience having worked there. The interviews won't be as difficult if you know how to execute them.

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