Building a digital and data career: My journey as a degree apprentice

Starting a career in digital and data can feel daunting, but a degree apprenticeship showed me just how much you can learn by doing. From contributing to real client projects to building coding skills with expert support, I’ve grown faster than I ever expected. Here’s how my hands‑on experience, collaboration, and curiosity helped me carve a path into a career in tech.

When people hear the word ‘apprentice’, they might think of observation rather than contribution, but my experience at PA has been quite the opposite. As a data science degree apprentice, I work on real client projects, develop my technical skills through hands-on learning and mentorship, and study towards a degree simultaneously.

My pathway to digital and data

I previously studied business at university. But I realised quickly that traditional university-style teaching didn’t suit me because I learn best through practice. So, I decided to pivot into a career in technology. I was drawn to data science because it bridges the gap between business problems and technical solutions.

I decided to do an apprenticeship because I wanted to find out what a career in technology was really like. PA stood out to me because of its collaborative culture and breadth of expertise. At PA, apprentices are active team members who learn and progress through real responsibility, supported by industry experts. And, digital and data roles are available across the firm, enabling me to work with clients across a variety of industries and learn from multi-disciplinary specialists.

A day in the life of a data science apprentice

Most days begin with a stand-up to make sure the team are all aligned. Then, I’ll begin planning, building, and testing – learning as I go. A typical day might look like:

• Morning: I pick up my tickets, clarify requirements, and plan my approach for the day
• Midday: Focused development time – I could be doing anything from exploratory analysis, writing Python scripts, testing and refining code, to deploying updates in our cloud pipeline
• Afternoon: Review and collaboration – I might be doing pair programming, code reviews, documentation updates, or preparing for a client demo and capturing their feedback for future product iterations
• End of day: Wrap up my work – I commit my changes, reflect on my learning, and note key priorities for the following day.

The opportunities for client projects themselves are so varied – I could be working with an aviation team, developing dashboards to support engine maintenance, or helping to scale a pest control company’s digital platform through building and optimising their data pipelines. This variety is what makes my role so exciting – I get to apply my skills across a variety of industries, with each project bringing a fresh challenge.

Becoming a digital innovator of tomorrow

My team of digital and data experts create lasting change using the power of digital technology and a creative mindset to solve real human problems. They are always on hand to support my learning and development so I can become a future technology pioneer. For example, I was recently working on a digital transformation project for a large public sector organisation, which required a Python data quality validation script. The script I created was failing on files that appeared to be correct. So I reached out to an experienced colleague and we worked together on it. We refined the check to accept expected variations, added a small test case to prevent a repeat situation, and monitored its ongoing behaviour. This collaborative approach allowed me to learn through problem solving, with the support of an expert at the cutting-edge of digital and data technology solution design – and someone who champions my development.

I’ve learnt how to use a range of tools and technologies for coding, collaboration, and organisation across different projects. From Python, SQL, and Drone to support data pipelines, to using R for analysis and visualisation and collaborating with my team across GitHub, Slack, and Jira – I have exposure to a huge variety of tech stacks.

Whether I’m virtual pair programming or working alongside a colleague in the office – collaboration is the best way for me to pick up on how experienced colleagues approach complex problems, ask questions, and build my technical confidence – it’s embedded into our way of working.

Digital skills in and out the classroom

Alongside client work, I also have dedicated time for university study. My studies teach me the language and frameworks to help understand the fundamentals, while my client work puts it into context.

Balancing work and study felt daunting at first. But my extensive support system at work enables me to seek guidance, learn from the experiences of others, and talk it out.

Connections with purpose

What I love about my degree apprenticeship is there are plenty of opportunities to connect with the wider early careers community. From volunteering, networking, and apprentice events, there’s countless opportunities to meet and learn from people from across PA.

I like to attend talks with external speakers and capability-wide get togethers. These are an amazing opportunity to build my network, learn from people outside my project, and hear about the breadth of innovation from digital and data experts at PA.

A year of growth

A year ago, I couldn’t have told you what a Lambda function was. Today, when a colleague asks me about Python concepts or AWS services, I find myself naturally explaining them in detail (and genuinely enjoying it!). Over the course of my degree apprenticeship, I’ve gone from barely knowing the basics to having the ability to independently take an initial concept all the way through to delivery, something I never imagined would be possible so early in my career.

What continues to keep me motivated is the people at PA and the environment they’ve created. I’m grateful for the colleagues who invest in my development, celebrate my progress, and guide me through the more difficult moments. I now approach new challenges with curiosity rather than hesitation, knowing I have the space to learn, contribute, and drive real change. I haven’t just gained technical skills – I’ve found a career path that I really love.