It’s finally approaching the end of the year; I’m finalising my portfolio and have begun working on my end-of-year report. It doesn’t feel like the end as there’s still work to be done for Omni and delivering our application to the customer in the coming months, but it does feel like a great time to review my learnings this year and highlight my successes.
I believe I’ve grown the most in working with teams, leading others, organising and planning projects, and understanding the latest technology trends. Being fully responsible for this project has shown me the value of the processes taught at university and how important it is to document and schedule ahead of time. I still struggle with deadlines and giving accurate time estimates for my work; I think this is an area I may always struggle with due to my disability, but being transparent with my manager, providing regular updates and building in buffers can really help me from being overworked and keep my manager happy.
I’m most proud of the application I have delivered so far. I wouldn’t have believed the amount of technical work I could achieve, the reliability and simple structure I have developed and how much I have learnt about mobile platforms. This year has affirmed for me that I want to continue working on mobile application development and that I am ready for a career in software development. As such, I won’t be pursuing a research year, but I hope to revisit my postgraduate studies as I have always enjoyed teaching others and hope to share my knowledge in an academic setting in my later career.
Below, I have completed an update on my skills development and included my supervisor’s report. I appreciate David’s belief in my skills and development this year, and he’s been a great guide when I needed it. He’s also shared some great advice for my future career and living abroad, for which I’m exceptionally grateful.
Skills Development Table:
| Professional Equivalent to years of work experience | Competent Ready for the workforce | Developing Doing ok but need work | Starting Needs a lot of work | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication | |||||
| Organising and expressing ideas concisely. | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Speaking clearly and directly to individuals or groups. | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Developing arguments from scientific, philosophical and ethical perspectives. | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Teamwork | |||||
| Working in a team to achieve a common goal. | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Sharing information, supporting and empowering other team members | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Responding constructively to the opinions of others. | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | I’ve really learnt to take criticisms head on this year and change my behaviours based on feedback. |
| Problem Identification and Solution | |||||
| Researching and selecting relevant information to solve a problem. | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Analysing issues for underlying causes, assessing options, proposing solutions | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Thinking sequentially, critiquing and synthesizing information | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | |
| Initiative and Enterprise | |||||
| Easily adjusting to new situation | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Mapping out ideas to an action plan | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Identifying innovative options | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Planning and Organisation | |||||
| Managing timelines and prioritising | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | |
| Allocating and coordinating tasks for self and others | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Anticipating future needs and forward planning | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | This year has really taught me the value of this skill and although I believe I’ve learnt the importance of doing this, I want to practice before improving my score. |
| Use of Tools and Technology | |||||
| Proficiency in using computers and telecommunications systems | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Understanding current trends and developments | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | |
| Managing information through technology | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |