Brandon - Software Engineer Degree Apprentice
"It’s surreal to think they use our chips in their next-gen cars."
At first, what attracted Brandon to a degree apprenticeship in software engineering were the financial and professional benefits: “I figured there is one thing that's better than zero debt at the end of a three-year degree, and that’s also having three years’ experience on the job.”
But soon after beginning his programme, Brandon realised Arm offered him much more than a head start in software career. It opened his eyes to the impact he could make in the lives of virtually everyone he knew, as well as billions of others: “A lot of people ask me, ‘Who are Arm?’ And I say to them, ‘You know that phone you and everyone else is holding? Peel back enough layers and it all starts with what Arm designs.’ Then they’ll search our name online and say, ‘Wow, Arm are huge!’
Beyond smartphones and home devices, Brandon began to realise Arm-powered processors were driving much more. Now, he has plenty of opportunities to work with the biggest tech firms and brand names across a huge variety of industries: “Every now and then, you'll hear a name like Audi dropped in a meeting. I’d never heard them in the context of Arm before and it’s surreal to think they use our chips in their next-gen cars.”
If Brandon had any worries about taking on this kind of responsibility, he doesn’t show it. He believes the level of investment Arm puts into developing his skills naturally leads to greater confidence: “I recently did an Advanced Modern C++ course, which was five intense but fascinating days, learning all the new features and modernised iterations of the language. Arm is great at acknowledging that time and money is better spent on training, rather than you working for that week, because it’s going to pay off for them in the long term. They don’t expect you to come in super knowledgeable with loads of skills. Instead of them looking for the best, they teach you to become the best