Going into a software development team as an 18-year-old was nerve-racking but everyone throughout the company was so friendly and so welcoming, it made it easy to settle in. It was a great working atmosphere to be a part of, with everyone being equal from the top down and everyone’s opinion taken into consideration no matter their experience. All the team were happy to help me if I encountered any hurdles, even if it was a trivial problem for an experienced developer. They also took the time to explain the problem and how to fix it instead of just showing me the solution; this was extremely helpful in my growth in becoming a developer. I was put onto a project where both front-end and back-end development was needed, this gave me some full-stack experience and even allowed me to learn a whole new language (JavaScript).Due to the iterative development, I was able to get consistent feedback on my code and the ways I could improve the application. This continuous interaction with experienced developers has allowed me to pick up lots of good coding practices. While being a part of the development team, I was able to experience the whole process of a SCRUM sprint including the retrospective, the review, and the planning and how this type of iterative development leads to the highest quality product. I was also shown how to use important tools such as Docker and Git which I am now able to use comfortably. In conclusion, working at HD has given me invaluable experience which will give me a huge advantage going into my next year at university and it was a pleasure to work with such a great team.
Written by Robbie Smith.