Senior SIEM Data Engineer Review
at Vodafone
Level 3 Apprenticeship
Information Technology
Newbury, UK
Review Submitted: May 2023
Overall Rating
2.6 /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!
2/5
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Overview of Role
3/5
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Skills Development
2.2/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
2/5
I manipulate and structure data for security purposes to help secure the Vodafone estate. My work uses a variety of skills and experience including knowledge of proprietary coding languages, javascript, CI/CD pipelines and alot of regular expressions. There is also an engagement side to me work that shoudln't be overlooked.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
2/5
I enjoyed aspects of the programme but it was very strict in the course content, even if we didn't have work data that perfectly aligned to the situation. This required many hours manipulating data to make it fit the models we needed to work with, only to find unsurpirisngly that it created no benefit.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
3/5
During the apprenticeship, I learnt how to use python and became fairly proficient in using it to manipulate data. My understanding of programming concepts, syntaxes increased, though there could have been more focus on this to better round-out the learning.
Much of the learning was on data analysis and was very formulaic in that we prepared data, applied logic and looked at results.
Much of the learning was on data analysis and was very formulaic in that we prepared data, applied logic and looked at results.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
It was a very structured programme and there were aspects I enjoyed. The pace was very fast and unrealistic for most people tackling it as a 1 day a week apprencticeship as intended. The workload was very high, and higher if your data was not very suitable for the assignments.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
My employer was very supportive of the role but in reality, the biggest benefit the apprenticship delivered was helping to secure me a new job in an area I wanted. In this respect, it was also beneficial for the employer. More people being data-literate in the company is also a good thing as it helps improve things like naming conventions and awareness of data issues.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
1/5
I had a paternity leave during my apprenticeship and as a result required extra time as I fell behind with some of my studies. The training provider was very flexible but at other times, they were a little TOO flexible and allowed things to slip that shouldn't have slipped.
Support via email etc was also usually quite poor and not very helpful.
Support via email etc was also usually quite poor and not very helpful.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
1/5
It helped me secure this current role, though I no longer use most of the skills I learnt during the apprenticeship which is a shame. I would like to expand my python and data analysis skills but this isn't something that is readily available in the scope of my work currently. I am already very good at dashboarding and the course didn't really challenge me in this area execpt in the final examination.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
3/5
Yes, there are many. Cycling clubs every Friday, photography clubs online with practical sessions, even a Cyber Hacking club. There are plenty of things to get involved in or you can start something new quite easily by posting on the internal message board to garner interest and get a group going.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Vodafone to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Its a very nice place to work. The people and culture are very relaxed and pragmatic which is refreshing. The company allows you to have compassion as a manager and the paternity leave policy is VERY genergous. Enough to stay for that alone. 16 weeks with my children plus 6 motnhs of 4 day weeks paid for 5 has been amazing and really can't be matched by other competitors.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Vodafone?
Do a little research on the website to find out what we do as it's ALOT more than just phones and broadband. The majority of people in Vodafone don't work with the mobile and consumer side of the business. Most work is either for our enterprise business customers or for Vodafone itself.
