#GradStories Oluchi Ngozi Anyabuike, Software Engineer, Fidelity Investments

What is your first name, job title and the company you work for?

My name is Oluchi Ngozi Anyabuike, I'm a software engineer at Fidelity Investments

In my current role I work as a Software Engineer developing trading and monitoring applications for fixed income products. I usually start my day by checking in with my team and we discuss any tasks that I have in progress. I then write the code for those tasks and implement the testing solutions. My code is then peer reviewed by my colleagues before being deployed into a test environment. I work as part of a global team so part of my day also includes liaising with my US colleagues through instant messaging or video calls.

What skills do you need to be successful in your role?

A good understanding of best programming practices, object-oriented programming principles and the importance of test automation is vital to become a good software engineer. Having a good understanding of these topics is very important in delivering quality thoroughly tested solutions to our end users. In a software engineering role a lot is learned in practice so being a receptive learner and asking questions is vital , even seasoned engineers are given time to adjust to a new team, role or company so I try not to feel too pressured to grasp everything immediately.

What was your career break?

There was an eight-month industry placement as part of my undergraduate degree, and I was offered an internship with Fidelity Investments. During that time I was able to apply classroom knowledge to real world issues and adjust to a corporate space. This was very beneficial to me because I formed connections with my peers and like-minded senior developers which stood to me during the remainder of my final year of college. After having that experience I knew that Fidelity's positive work environment and culture aligned with my values and that's where I wanted to begin my career. I joined fidelity's leap graduate program after graduating and was placed on a dynamic fast-paced team shortly afterwards.

What advice would you give to other graduates?

As a software engineer you need to have strong communication skills so what I would advise a first-year engineer to do is to start getting involved in societies and clubs within the university. This provides a good way to hone and refine your communication skills which will stand to you when you go into industry. Now you can do this by organizing events, workshops or presenting to an unknown audience. It also allows you to network with a broad spectrum of people which can help you with your career going forward.

What do you love about your job?

With technology being an ever-changing field there's never any shortage of tools, frameworks or languages to learn and for me that's one of the main draws to a career in the technology industry and what drives my passion for engineering. Even if I'm not learning something brand new every day there's always ways to refine and enhance existing systems. I'm never idle which suits my personality quite well.

How have you found working from home?

Fidelity has been great with support from working from home ever since last March. We have a host of benefits available to us to make use of wherever we feel the need to and even though the adjustment has been difficult sometimes knowing that everybody's in it together has made the experience a lot more enjoyable.