GetMyFirstJob Ambassador
Hello, I Am Malaika
Tell us more about your experience
After finishing college, it made me realise that I wasn’t
going to enjoy university. It's something I never really thought about nor did
I ever see myself going. The lifetime of debt didn't seem appealing to me, and
I also knew a lot of people who still struggled to get a job even after getting
a degree. So I looked at other options like an apprenticeship and I honestly
don’t regret it at all! I’m 21 with no debt and with a great amount of savings
as well as gaining a qualification and knowing I have a job at the end of it, it’s
the greatest feeling!
My advice would be to just do it and
go for an apprenticeship! It’s the new way to success, yes its not easy, you
have a lot more to juggle but the end result is so worth. Do your research to
ensure its suited for yourself and its something you can handle, if so I would
100% recommend doing an apprenticeship.
The highlight of my
apprenticeship so far has to be the people I’ve met and the opportunities that
I’ve been given. I love meeting new people and hearing about other careers
paths people have chosen as well as making good friends. This is something that
I’ve been able to do with the early careers colleagues at AQA. The
opportunities that have come my way have been great, from helping to promote
the company, to doing live Q&A’s, as well as being a Mental Health First
Aider (MHFA), not to mention this amazing opportunity of becoming an
apprenticeship ambassador.
My job role was to develop, promote, embed, and monitor a
consistent and robust IT security, information security, business continuity
and data protection management approach reflecting industry best practice to
ensure the highest levels of confidentiality, availability and integrity of AQA
systems and information. So essentially our customers were mainly the employees
of AQA.
The support system given to me by my employer and my
training provider was so incredible.
They were very
supportive, when I had apprenticeship work due, I communicated with my manager
and he ensured that I didn’t have a heavy workload to allow me to complete my
apprenticeship work. Or if I needed a little bit more time on my essay, I would let my training provider know of the situation and they'd move the deadline by a
few days. They were very cooperative, understanding and always available to
answer any questions I had.
When it came to applying for my role, The application process
was very smooth sailing and transparent. A lot more relaxed than I have ever
experienced. The GetMyFirstJob team made the journey from the start, they
always made sure you were comfortable through every stage. They were always on
top of there communication with you, any questions you may have they would
reply within a few hours so I was always felt at ease.
Since completing my apprenticeship, I have secured a permanent role at AQA as an Assistant Security Analyst. My journey post apprenticeship has been both smooth sailing and definitely rewarding, its been nice to focus my time on work and getting involved in more project work rather than dedicating a lot of time to my apprenticeship work.
Currently, I am exploring opportunities to attain the next level of my existing qualification and considering additional certifications in the field of cybersecurity. This endeavour aims to enhance both the breadth and depth of my knowledge and expertise.
For those aspiring to secure an apprenticeship in Cyber Security, my advice would be to embrace authenticity. It's common for individuals to project an idealized version of themselves, forgetting they'll be working closely with the team every day. Relax, stay true to yourself, and don't hesitate to inject some appropriate humour into your interactions.
Prioritize conducting comprehensive research on the organization to ensure its mission, values, and goals resonate with your own professional ethos. Similarly, acquaint yourself thoroughly with the job description to gauge your interest and ability to pursue the role both during and beyond the apprenticeship.