February Spartan of the Month: Will Moorby

What and where did you study at university? Or did you not study at university at all? 

I studied Chemical Engineering MEng at Newcastle University.  

Where did you train with Sparta Global and which course did you study? 

After graduating from university, I started a period of job searching. In this time, I found an advertisement on GradCracker for Sparta Global’s Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) role.  

When did you join and graduate? 

My course started in July 2021 and lasted 12 weeks. I then started my placement at a Big Four Consultancy in the middle of October.  

How did you decide Sparta Global was the right career move for you?  

My course at university was very Engineering and Chemistry focused, however, we had the opportunity to develop our coding skills with “computer-assisted design” tools. One of these tools was Matlab which led me to look at other languages (like Python). I grew more curious about a position in Software Engineering, as opposed to Process Engineering, and I found the Sparta Global advertisement at just the right time.  

How did you find your training at the Academy, and how did your training prepare you for work?  

I was excited to learn and meet the colleagues I’d be in training with. We started off learning business skills and the basics of Agile methodology, which I didn’t expect, as I thought the course would be purely coding based. During the course, we typically spent a week on each topic, and I felt that was a good amount of time to go through the basics and get a high-level understanding of the topic. The fast-paced nature added to the challenge and helped me work harder towards our end goal.  

Due to the technical nature of my university course, I found that the technical knowledge was fairly easy to grasp and conceptualise and I really enjoyed learning about things I never knew existed and how software development teams use certain tools to accomplish things.  

Can you tell us about the connections you have built through Sparta? How have you found the community to be?  

I found the Sparta Global community to be very welcoming, super friendly and always willing to help. The trainers were always keen to help and would say things like, “Feel free to message me if you have any questions about anything.” I have taken them up on this offer whilst working with my client and have always received a quick response! The staff at Sparta Global has provided me with good role models that I can strive to be like.  

What is the current position and with what company?  

I am currently an Analyst for a Big Four Consultancy. I am currently working in a DevOps role on a public sector engagement. I have been able to move through different roles on my project, which has allowed me to discover what I really want to do. Initially, I started out in testing, however, my engagement director at Sparta offered me a place with a senior manager in DevOps, allowing me to work in a role which was closely related to my Sparta training. The opportunity to try Automated Testing arose, which I found way more fun and interesting. I have since returned to a DevOps role, mainly because that’s what I find the most interesting, and my DevOps team are really great, and I can learn so much from them.  

Tell us a bit about your day-to-day role. What do you get stuck into? 

My day-to-day changes depending on who is available and what the most immediate goals are. At the moment, I am solely responsible for our CI/CD pipelines. This means I make modifications when our requirements change, come up with ideas for automation to improve our processes, and support the Dev team.  

Are you enjoying working in the tech industry and if so – why?  

Most definitely. I was always interested in computers and tech, and it is really satisfying to be able to work on something that I’m passionate about. If I hadn’t have found Sparta when I did, I would probably be doing some sort of process engineering work in a factory or chemical plant somewhere, which really doesn’t appeal to me.  

Do you feel you now have the passion and skill to carve a long-serving career in technology? 

For sure! I already had bucket loads of passion for tech but a very small amount of knowledge. Sparta showed me the door to a career in tech and provided me with a head start. I believe I’ll remain in the tech industry for the rest of my life and Sparta has enabled me to make that my future.  

What are you looking forward to doing in your new role?  

What I am most looking forward to is being the person that everyone considers to be the best in my field. I want to be the person that people come to when they are unsure of something and need help.  

How did it feel to be named Spartan of the Month? 

I felt elated and content. I was happy to have earned this achievement, mainly because I made it one of my goals for this year, but I was happy with the feedback I received. I want to continue performing at a high standard and improving my knowledge and abilities every day.  

Would you recommend Sparta to other graduates and if so – why?  

Yes, yes, YES! Without Sparta, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. They have enabled me to switch my career into a subject I am much more passionate about and interested in, as well as given me a head start in the skills and knowledge I need for the industry. They have great trainers and staff within the company, and I will always recommend them to friends or other graduates.