My apprenticeship as an IT specialist at Factorial

My internship at Factorial helped me grow a great deal, both professionally and personally. I had the opportunity to explore many interesting topics across various fields. During my internship, I gained insight into different departments, witnessed the company’s steady growth, and got to know wonderful colleagues who were always there to offer me advice and support.

The application process at Factorial was very accommodating. It started with an online application from home. This was followed by an internship, which allowed me to get a feel for the processes at Factorial. This helped me gain a good overall picture of the company and learn the basics of the development processes. Even during the internship, I implemented a small Drupal project, which I really enjoyed and which motivated me to start the apprenticeship at Factorial. Thanks to my positive performance during the internship, I was offered a spot in the apprenticeship program.

Many of my fellow apprentices already had basic knowledge as IT specialists, but since I had no prior experience, my instructor patiently showed me at the beginning which different programming languages existed and how they differed. I was allowed to take on smaller tasks and gained insights into the world of HTML.

During the three years of my training as an IT specialist, vocational school provided me with the necessary theoretical knowledge, while at Factorial I was able to dive deep into practical work. In addition to courses in IT systems, application systems, English, and marketing, there were many subject-specific project assignments at school in which I participated. The project work was especially helpful for putting what I’d learned into practice and getting things off the ground together with my classmates. My instructor supported me and helped me build my knowledge by offering guidance while also giving me enough autonomy. Together, we also worked on improving my academic performance. Gradually, I became part of a project team and was able to apply what I had learned.

I especially loved that my training program offered a lot of variety, and that all the employees were always there to help me whenever I had questions. I really like the work environment at Factorial—you’re treated with respect and as an equal, because no distinction is made between trainees (like me) and other, much more experienced colleagues. Throughout my entire training, I was able to participate in various events and conferences, such as DrupalCon in Amsterdam and DrupalCamp in Schwerin, and there was even an online English course.

All in all, I had a great time at Factorial. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the employees—especially Stephan, who taught me so much and invested a lot of time in me.