When faced with the decision of what to do post-university, I was attracted to BAE Systems as an employer because of its heritage and reputation. I had been really interested in space throughout sixth form and university, and knew that BAE Systems was a company that was heading into that. I already knew people here, and they really recommended the graduate programme as a way to get management experience early.
At university I studied physics and philosophy, and am particularly interested in ethics. I liked the ethos of protecting the people who protect us - this helped me overcome any early conflicting feelings about working within the defence sector.
I am still on the graduate programme and hope to stay past that. I see myself developing to a point where I can make things happen and help to nurture teams. I am currently working on a technical project, and even though I have a lot to learn as someone without a computer science or software engineering background, it’s great to hear what’s going on and the enthusiasm that everyone has for the project.
I’m also part of the graduate council, which has given me the opportunity to meet and work with other graduates across the BAE Systems group, as well as collaborate with the graduate councils in Australia and the United States. BAE Systems support my career development, and with my manager’s help, I have been able to explore a range of work which BAE Systems engages with by rotating through different projects within the graduate programme.
Since joining the company, I have been pleasantly surprised with the dedication to diversity and inclusion. BAE Systems has a number of Employee Resource Groups, where you can meet like-minded colleagues and help to shape D&I initiatives; and observation days are highlighted regularly in employee communications to promote awareness more widely.
Although I haven’t been with the company as long as some, I look forward to the prospect of working on a wide range of projects and building strong friendships with my peers. I want to become the same kind of leader that I see from my own line managers, to be able to command a room and work with teams to find the best path to getting a job done.
