The work culture at IBM has made the process of switching from student to work life an enjoyable and stress-free experience.
Ben Graham, Graduate Software Developer, IBM
The best thing about working at IBM is the work culture, which has made the process of switching from student to work life an enjoyable and stress-free experience. This was achieved using an 8-week induction course, where I got to meet all the graduates and had different teaching sessions to bring me up to speed on technologies used by IBM.
On top of this, I have 3 managers that all serve different purposes. The first one is my technical lead who gives me my day-to-day tasks and is there for any technical questions. The second is my project manager, who is responsible for making sure my work is going well – is it too easy? is it too hard? – and helping me to understand the company processes, such as booking holiday.
And my final manager is my EPDM (early profession development manager), who is there to help my career at IBM or elsewhere. They help me with networking and keep me in the loop with all the possible opportunities I could get involved with, here at IBM. Having all three of these managers gives me the tools I need to answer any questions I have and help me settle into my new role.
I am Graduate Software Developer and currently I work on a product called Spectrum Virtualize, which helps companies store their data efficiently and securely (plus many more benefits). My role involves developing new features for the product, fixing bugs in the product or working with clients, either on problems they’re experience or features they would like to see in future versions of the product. IBM is very good at making sure you are comfortable; it is very easy to move teams or even departments if you are not enjoying your role.
IBM has a very rich history in tech (with the moon landings and first generation PCs, for example) and has been one of the leading tech companies for a long time, especially with the sudden growth of Cloud computing. As I grew up learning about computers, the name IBM always stood out. For this reason, it felt silly not to apply for IBM’s placement program, when searching for an industry placement as part of my degree. During that year’s placement, I learnt about the IBM early professional programme, and it was an obvious choice to go back.