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From Brunel to the BBC

From Brunel to the BBC

Published: 13 Mar 2023

Zephaniah Flynn

The campus life is absolutely amazing. The community, staff and everything that makes Brunel makes it feel like a second home.

Zephaniah, Undergraduate, Alumni

Software Engineer, BBC

Computer Science (Software Engineering) BSc - 2016

From UK

Tell us about your career journey since you graduated…

Just before I graduated I acquired a job through QA Consulting, in which I started my career as a Software Consultant / Scala Developer. I stayed with QA (HMRC and Capgemini) for a year and a half. I then decided to continue my career as a Software Engineer at the BBC.

What does an average day at work involve for you?

My average day consists of programming in Scala and Java, building Restful APIs with Akka-http/Akka-streams. Building DBs with MySQL and PostgreSQL. Building and maintaining web architecture on AWS, plus undergoing technical architectural design. We mainly develop in a TDD approach and much more. Furthermore, we would have a daily stand-up and then have meetings throughout the day which would include things like elaboration, definitions and engineering meetings.

What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

Building a web architecture from top to bottom to meet a business requirement for the BBC. Seeing an end product that you have designed, implemented, tested and documented is a very satisfying feeling and because it is the BBC, millions of people will be using what you've developed. Slowly seeing myself develop over the past year has been amazing.

How would you say Brunel helped you to get where you are today?

The institution taught me the more advanced fundamentals of programming.

Why did you choose to study at Brunel and why would you recommend Brunel to others?

The campus life is absolutely amazing and I wish I could go back for just one more weekend! The community, staff and everything that makes Brunel makes it feel like a second home. I will always hold Brunel dear to me. The main reason is because of the ranking position Brunel held in the league tables for all universities in the UK.

What is your best memory of studying here?

Staying up for 20+ hours, 5-10 nights in a row, trying to complete my dissertation at the last minute. Doing my dissertation was very enjoyable as it felt like everything was leading up to that piece of work.

If you could give one piece of advice to new students, what would that be?

Study constantly, do short but frequent sessions. Plus never work in your room on campus as you should associate that space as a place of rest.

What would be your top tip or advice for new graduates as they begin their career journey?

Don't be too worried going into a new work place; understand that seniors know that you’re just starting out and won't know everything. However, be prepared to learn and always go above and beyond. Also, I recommend reading my blog to get a better understanding, which is written for technical and non-technical students.