I’ve been working as a Senior Software Engineer at the DVLA in Swansea for over a year now. During that time, I’ve been lucky enough to use a wide array of advanced tools and technologies, given the opportunity to learn and progress as well as get a proper idea of what it’s like to work in the civil service.
The people and teams at DVLA are second to none. Every day I am surrounded by people who really care about the quality of the products and services they create and support. I’ve worked with a number of different languages including Java, JavaScript (React, Node, Vue), Ruby, Python and Go just to name a few! I’ve worked with on-premise infrastructure, through to cloud hosted infrastructure, infrastructure as code as well as serverless technologies which take in hundreds of thousands of requests a day.
Development and learning wise, again the opportunities have been flawless. The training on offer is almost constant, whether it’s specific language training, in-depth masterclasses on tools and technologies we use or something completely different like interviewing skills; the opportunities are there and are plentiful in number. We’ve also had the opportunity to go to events such as Swanseacon, ServerlessDays and other events around the country as well. Personally, I’m also a DVLA STEM Ambassador, meaning I go to events around the country to promote STEM opportunities to kids and young adults, as well as promoting STEM on a broader scale. This is just one way that DVLA allows you to “give back” to the community.
Finally, a quick note on work/life balance. As can probably be gathered from the text above, I love my job at DVLA. Living locally and having flexi time in my role is extremely valuable and allows me to focus on my job without having to worry about any issues should they arise. I’ve only ever thought about work a few times after I have come home, and that’s something I can’t say about many other places I’ve worked! I feel that working in software engineering at DVLA is a challenging and rewarding place, but more than anything the people really do care about the products and your personal wellbeing.