Ask an Apprentice Day: Thomas Dowell

Arcus Global

Arcus Global
March 6, 2019

Hi, I’m Thomas, I’m 19 and in Sep-18, I became Arcus Global’s first Degree Apprentice.

Why did you chose an Apprenticeship?

I chose to do a Degree Apprenticeship because I didn’t want the debt from a student loan, I was doubtful about the benefits of being forced to live with other students and I wanted to graduate with four years’ worth of real-world practical experience rather than three years’ worth of theory.

How have you found it so far?

In the past six months, since starting my Degree Apprenticeship, I feel that I’ve learned more than I did in four years’ of Computer Science courses across GCSE and A Level. At the same time, I’ve been part of a team and helped them to grow.

What do you like about working at Arcus?

They say that time flies when you’re having fun, and that’s exactly what has happened since working at Arcus. They offer very flexible working hours and as long as I get my work done, I can act like any other student and come into work in the middle of the day, after having a nice lie-in. I appreciate the time and money saved by there not being a dress code and it’s comfortable to wear whatever I want (with the exception to my mankini). It’s easy to get to know everyone in the company thanks to the social events hosted by the AWESOME team. I like the fact that Arcus encourage individuals to become certified in recognised qualifications and I am proud to have become Arcus Global’s first AWS Cloud Practitioner after just three months working there.

I hope my experience encourages other school leavers to become Degree Apprentices; Arcus should be recruiting for more between April and June this year.