software engineer Review
at BT Group
Degree Apprenticeship
Software Engineering
Ipswich
Review Submitted: February 2025
Overall Rating
2.7 /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
2.4/5
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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
It depends I rotate every 6 months so my role changes. when I was new to the business I was upskilling so I didn't mind it as much but now I have really discovered an interest in software and also applies to my degree course I would prefer to do more software since my average day to day is just network related tasks or using software for admin jobs. It is hard as I know my position is great and the degree is paid for and there are worse jobs but it can be unmotivating sometimes since I will most probably exit the course with no genuine experience to take into a software role.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
2/5
I love the people I work with and the environment is friendly and respectful to all types of people. It can be hard being one of the few women in a office full of men but for the most part my colleagues treat me equally compared to other businesses I hear of. I enjoy doing software when I can and some of the course modules at university. In general the mix of working and university is very good and does make the migration process after the degree easier since I have had real word exposure.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
3/5
I have from the ground up now got a solid basis of networks and anything computer related but it has since hit a stationary point where I no longer feel I am progressing or that it is encouraged since the company itself is mainly networks based so there is a level of accountability I need to take from this outcome also..
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The university provider does not have great communication to be completely honest. There has been points where we have had our lecturer not show up, content be incorrectly taught, grades be messed up, and a general lack in communication of additional lessons we can attend or extended help. Sometimes you get a great course lead who wants to help you learn but then other times it is counterproductive and almost feels like I would benefit more from using online tools and teaching myself.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
There is support from my employer when I get stuck on course work since I work with other ex apprentices who have completed the same modules and can fill in the gaps, which I do benefit from. however myself and few other apprentices I work with have a niche situation where it sometimes feels like our preference of the way our apprenticeship is layed out is ignored. Other areas in BT rarely rotate now and the role you apply to you go into, but for us we were selected for ease of choosing our dissertation project compared to a networks apprentice and then placed in a predominantly network management area which doesn't really align to our goals.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
2/5
the support team for my personal adjustments are great making sure I have assignment or exam conditions to help me, but the university provider itself is not very good at helping. It really is hit or miss on what lecture you get but the overall training is poor.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
Some modules again are software based but mostly is a networks focus again. For my role right now this helps btu my actual goal or career path I was hoping to carve, this isnt great.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
1/5
No unless we organise them ourselves. There is often a lack in budget so even things like a Christmas meal, IF BT have had a good year then there is £35 a head which is a nice gesture but from a company of this size, especially compared to competitors or start ups, this is not that great since again this is all organised by someone in your area as an additional task to their role (for my org it was another apprentice). There are annual events like a women in tech day but that just consists of sharing a screen for an hour with other people.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BT Group to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It depends on your goals or career focus, on the whole it isn't a bad company to work for but I would not rate it as highly as I once did since having more exposure. My area specifically seems more sheltered from these things due to the nature of my workload, but recently hearing of random and large redundancy's etc. it can be riskier joining a bigger company where you are more likely to be seen as just a number unfortunately.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BT Group?
n/a
