Land a Tech Grad Role with Sainsbury's Jumpstart Scheme

Featuring Milena Wisniewska

Wondering how you could join and learn from some of the nation’s top experts in the Tech, Data and Design space? Look no further than Sainsbury’s Engineering Jumpstart Programme.

If you’re imagining what it’ll be like, we’ve got you covered in our Jumpstarting my Career in Tech with Sainsbury’s series where we go behind the scenes and speak with real-live Sainsbury’s Tech Academy candidates and find out how they help create better retail experiences for Sainsbury’s customers using tech. Let’s find out more with Milena Wisniewska!

What made you decide to apply for the Engineering Jumpstart programme with Sainsbury’s Tech Academy?

I applied because I thought it was such a great opportunity to gain experience in so many aspects of computing like Frontend, Backend and of course Data - of which Sainsbury’s has plenty!

What were your expectations before joining and has the experience lived up to this?

Before joining I hoped to be able to work in different fields per rotation. I’m currently in my second rotation and so far my experience has lived up to this and exceeded it! There are a lot of opportunities for you to expand on your knowledge even outside of your current team.

What is the biggest learning you’ve taken away from the experience?

Never tell yourself 'I can't do it,' instead think 'I can't do it yet.'

What was your favourite rotation and why?

I think I'm too early in my second rotation to have much of an opinion about it so I'll naturally say my first rotation with Team Antennae. After I got more comfortable with the tech stack and the team, I was given a project to work on myself which really solidified all of my learning done up until that point and gave me ownership of a project.

Which part of the tech stack you use(d) was easiest to pick up, and which was a bit more challenging?

Personally, the easiest thing for me to pick up was React and HTML/CSS since I've had a little bit of experience with them in the past. The hardest was either Spring Boot or Docker, it just took me a lot longer to get a hang of it and really understand how it worked.

What surprised you most about the experience?

How eager all the engineers are to help you out. Whenever I had any questions, no matter how unimportant I may have thought they would be they were all more than happy to help me out with them and spend time with me working through tickets I was struggling with.

If you could give any advice to someone looking to join the programme, what would it be?

Even if you don't have much of a programming background do not be afraid to give this opportunity a shot! The tech stacks of each team might look intimidating and not include anything you've used before, but you will get a hang of it in no time, especially with the help of fellow engineers in your rotation teams and the other Jumpstarters. What's important is that you have the right mindset and willingness to learn!

Applications are now closed.