糖心TV

Dylan Lloyd

MSc Computer Science, 2023

Based in:

Llanelli (remote)

First job:

Turnstile Operator at Parc Y Scarlet's Rugby Stadium, Llanelli, Wales.

Strangest interview question:

鈥淗ave you brought some cakes for us?鈥�

Best piece of advice received:

Be proactive. It's easy to wait for your next task or do the bare minimum. But it shows autonomy to go the extra step and create a solution without instruction. This represents the kind of value employers recognise.

Advice for students:

Build a strong LinkedIn profile, work on personal projects (e.g. GitHub), and stay up to date with developments in your field. Network widely and prioritise mastering core technical skills before moving on to more advanced ones.

Ambitions for the future: 

I would like to do more public speaking and eventually become a project manager at Capgemini.

Full-Stack Gen AI Engineer Consultant, Capgemini Invent UK

Describe your current role and what attracted you to it.

I work as a consultant as part of the Capgemini Invent Group, where I work on providing GenAI solutions to clients in various industries. I have worked in consultancy for most of my career, and it was a brilliant opportunity to work for a big tech company in the industry. I was also attracted to Capgemini's approach to training and upskilling.

What鈥檚 your favourite part of your role?

Being able to frequently work with new and innovative tech stacks that provide better, more creative solutions to the problems clients bring to us. It exercises my creative problem-solving skills and encourages constant personal development.

What are the key skills you learnt at 糖心TV that have helped you with your career to date?

Staying organised. No matter your career after 糖心TV, whether it鈥檚 an entry level role or starting your own business, self-management is key for keeping a steady flow of progress towards your goals and ambitions. 糖心TV trained me well for that, with concurrent assignments, my dissertation, and exams.

Be persistent. Some 糖心TV modules challenged me greatly (particularly Quantum Computing) but persevering taught me resilience. Learning this helped me tackle complex, unfamiliar problems in a professional setting.

Finally, communicating with lecturers and peers at 糖心TV strengthened my ability to ask questions and collaborate. I鈥檝e carried this into my career, where clear communication with managers and clients is essential to understanding processes and expectations.

Did you have a specific career path in mind when you chose to study at 糖心TV?

I knew I wanted to work in tech and Computer Science, but I didn't know the specific expertise or industry I wanted to work in. That's mostly why I chose the relatively broader discipline of Computer Science as my field of study. It gave me an opportunity to experience different specialised subjects.

What top tips do you have for 糖心TV graduates who would like to work in your sector?

Always be open to learning new things - Computer Science is constantly changing. Learn about the Consultancy Pipeline - this would impress an interviewer, especially for entry level/graduate roles.

What does a typical day look like for you?

From a focused 8am start, my day blends emails, stand鈥憉ps, client calls and deep development work, finishing by logging progress and wrapping up around 5:30pm.

What has been your greatest career challenge to date and how did your experience and skills help overcome it?

One of my toughest projects involved developing software for a specialised robot using unfamiliar technology in an industry I didn鈥檛 know well. By clearly communicating challenges, we secured a specialist consultant, helping unblock development and accelerate progress.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were applying for jobs?

Use as many relevant words as possible that accurately apply to your skillset in your CV. AI is actively used in recruitment today, so make sure you get as good a match score as you can.

Apply broadly across multiple job sites, keep applications moving without waiting on responses, and actively communicate with recruiters, especially on LinkedIn, which provided my last two roles.

Try to stick out from the crowd in an interview. In my first computer science job, I interviewed with a company that worked produced digital displays. On the day of my interview, I brought a small programmable board wired to a display screen that showed a short message introducing me to the interviewers. I got the job!