Interview
My first interaction with Macquarie Cloud Services was through the interview process. It’s not often that you get an insight into a company’s culture before you start, but the company did exactly that by giving me a truly unique experience. I interviewed with HMC’s manager, our Head of Operations and eventually the Group Executive! Although daunting at first, this experience was what made Macquarie Cloud Services stand out to me among the other potential employers that I interviewed with.
In addition to the insight I got into the company’s culture, I also had a good understanding of what the role would look like. My technical skills were challenged, and the questions were based on concepts I had studied at university. I understood that the program here takes graduates like me and develops the knowledge we gained at university to help us become professional network engineers.
Onboarding
There’s something magical about Data Centres. It’s always been a dream of mine to visit a Data Centre and learn about where the cloud lives, so I was excited to be able to see it all on my first day. My first few days in the HMC went by in a flash – I had no clue what anyone was talking about and started wondering what I had gotten myself into. My teammates sounded like wizards to me, it was as though they were speaking a different language!
Bit by bit I learnt the language and before long, I started to understand what was happening around me. I started just over a year ago and am proud to say that I’m now at a stage where I’m able to confidently teach and help my colleagues. Looking back, I never thought I’d see the day where I’d know as much as I do now, and be able to help my teammates too. This leads to one of my favourite things about this graduate program – not a day goes by where I don’t learn something new in this role, and that’s a fact.
Learning and Development
My educational background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, majoring in Systems Security and Cyber Security. The networking aspects of my degree really prepared me for this role. Before joining, I never thought that I’d be referring to the OSI model every day!
The HMC certification path is designed to equip graduates with real-life skills. It starts off with a bang, with the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification being the first one to work towards. If you haven’t heard of it already, the CCNA is a globally recognised certification and a must-have for every network engineer. This qualification sets you apart in the industry and speaks for itself when you’re communicating to other professionals about your networking knowledge.
The next one that we’re encouraged to work towards is the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certification. ITIL details the framework of the IT industry as a whole and is crucial for every professional in this industry. It covers everything from change management to different aspects of business operations. ITIL is the foundation of our work and the concepts are used in the HMC on a daily basis to ensure we streamline our practices in ticket management and customer relations. The graduate program doesn’t just aim to equip us with technical skills – understanding of the business and how it works is highly valued as well. Macquarie Cloud Services ensures that employees as a junior as graduates like us are given every opportunity to get involved in the business and develop themselves professionally. We’re not seen as just another support team.
The Future
Macquarie Cloud Services is making big moves in Cyber Security with our very own 24×7 SOC which operates from our Security Centre of Excellence in Australia. With some new offerings in this space as well as being named a trusted Security Partner of Australian Federal and State Governments, I can’t wait to be a part of the exciting things coming our way. I’ve always had a passion for security and can’t wait to get involved in this side of the business as well!