University VS Work

I’ve been a member of the C+C family for an entire month now, it’s crazy how quickly it’s gone by. Even though it’s only been a short amount of time, I’ve been able to see the huge difference between university life and the world of work.

Learning
During my 2 years at university, the majority of things I’ve been taught have been pretty useless. None of it really prepared me for the world of work, I learned things to pass a module and that was it. The only thing my course has helped me with is figuring out what areas of I.T I enjoy and don’t, allowing me to narrow down my career options from a generic I.T to Web Design/Development.
On the other hand, since starting at C+C, I’ve already learnt so much! I’ve joined a few of CG’s training sessions and found that learning something new, then instantly putting what you’ve learnt into practice, is super effective to retain and be able to keep using this new knowledge in the future.

Social
Another difference is the social aspect. At university you constantly have the opportunity to meet new people; whether that’s in class, in your halls, out during freshers or just around campus in general. You’ll encounter lots of different people throughout your time there, most likely only becoming acquaintances with most and having a small number of close knit friends you’ll spend most of your time with.
At work, especially in a small company such as C+C, numbering at 6 members now, there is less chance to branch out and meet new people. However, the Code and Create team are more like that close knit group of friends you make. Everyone supports each other, offers their help where they can and there’s always amazing banter everyday. Personally, I favor these kinds of relationships over trying to make friends with everyone I can.

The challenges I faced…
Each side has challenged me in a different way. To go to university, I left home and went to live in a brand new city away from my family. I had to make new friends with the people I’d be living with in halls and learning with on my course (which when you’re the only female, is quite daunting). My course has given me challenging pieces of work to complete for seemingly impossible deadlines. But, I managed to overcome it all and have survived my first 2 years.
As for work, starting a full-time job was already a new challenge. Apart from 2 months in retail, I had no real job experience and no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome I received! Since starting I’ve been thrown into the deep end with pretty much everything. From designing my first site to trying to make improvements to the code in the Re-Match software, all of it was scary to begin with and definitely challenging. But in this one month, I’ve improved my skills so much and being thrown into a new project doesn’t seem as daunting anymore.

In conclusion, I can confidently say, at the moment I’m enjoying my time at Code and Create more than my university experience so far. I can’t wait to see what the next 11 months throws at me!