What's it like as a Junior Production Database Administrator at bet365? Josh Coulding tells all.

I spoke with Josh Coulding, Junior Production Database Administrator, to find out what he enjoys about his role bet365.

What do you do at bet365?

I’m a Junior Production Database Administrator based in Manchester. I am responsible for upholding SQL coding standards across the company before they get run on our servers; monitoring of our servers; supporting our servers by attending to any alerts and support requests; building of new servers and I am involved in various different projects across the company, including the upgrade of different technologies that we use. We are an integral part of the company.

What do you enjoy about your current role?

I love how every day is different. One day I’ll be code reviewing SQL before it reaches our UAT and Production environments, the next I’ll be on our Support Mailbox attending to internal queries and server alerts. From all this, I have become extremely knowledgeable in my role where I have now become the go-to person for a lot of people in my team. I’ve trained a lot of the newcomers that have joined our team which has been great. Being able to train and become a point of contact has really built up my confidence and expertise in my role.

Further, I am also being trained up brilliantly. From shadowing more experienced members of my team, to having weekly 121 technical meetings, I am learning skills from some of the best people in the field. Dedicated training environments also have helped hone my skills which has been an incredibly useful resource. I am gaining valuable Microsoft accreditation by participating in exams to gain real qualifications, experience from which I have gained from my daily job.

What is your biggest achievement so far?

My biggest achievement has been learning entirely new skills which I haven’t had been exposed to before, such as Linux and Powershell. This just comes to prove that bet365 develops the individual and makes them well-rounded in their field. I am absolutely delighted knowing that I have learnt something new, as I thrive on challenges and self-progression.

To add to this, looking back, it is crazy at how much I have learnt since when I first started at bet365. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say I’ve learnt more in my first year bet365 than I did in my entire 3 years at University! I am constantly busy and learning new things every day. 

What do you enjoy about working for bet365?

One aspect of working for bet365 which I enjoy is that the work is challenging and incredibly interesting. It makes you think, learn, work solo and within a team. The staff structure here means that if you’re struggling, somebody else is happy to help and explain the solution. You’re never left in the lurch with anything.

I also enjoy working for bet365 because of the whole company culture. All of my team mates are so approachable and everybody gets along fantastic. New people into the company find themselves feeling extremely welcome.

The new flexible working policy allows for a better work-life-balance, although I prefer to be in the office due to the brilliant coffee machines!

 What is the most challenging part of your role?

The most challenging part of my role is working in such a fast-pace environment. Although you adapt fairly quickly to speed of which the PDBA department operates, it is challenging nonetheless that we have such large volumes of code reviews to get through. The queue is literally never ending! This demonstrates the amount of development that is going on at bet365 and there are no signs of this slowing. Sometimes I even consider connecting two mice to my PC and holding one in each hand (rhetorically speaking).

What made you choose bet365?

I chose bet365 because of their expansive recruitment drive and their amazing reviews. Whilst I was in my final year at University, I applied for so many jobs and received three job offers, and the one I wanted the most and chose was bet365. I have zero regrets of my choice and I really have landed on my feet in this role. Despite myself not having any prior DBA knowledge, I have adapted to my role well and have learnt an incredible amount in my first year.

What are your career aspirations?

I have no plans to change company or to apply for any internal vacancy at present. I am fully committed to the company and extremely happy in my job as a Junior DBA. My career aspirations are to continue learning and adapting within the technology sector. Being in the Production DBA team at bet365 develops you into well-rounder, as we do many different things apart from the typical DBA day-to-day work that you get elsewhere.

Would you recommend bet365 – if so why?

I would definitely recommend bet365, and in fact, I have! One of my recommendations is starting very soon.

The kit we have at bet365 is world class. We stretch some software beyond its limits and that is what I love. The company is a huge employer and a major part of the community of Stoke-On-Trent too. It’s fantastic to have an employer which invests so much into its employees. My manager has also enrolled me onto the company’s in-house PEP scheme which sounds exciting. This is another investment into the employees. It aims to develop soft-skills which you won’t otherwise learn on the job, such as presenting and network skills. As I am currently 22, this course will give me some tricks and tips which I can carry for the rest of my working career.

What advice would you give to someone who is looking to join bet365?

Are you somebody that loves a challenge? That wants to gain knowledge from genuine experts in their field? That wants to be part of a fantastic team where everybody is incredibly nice? Do you want a company where there is decent coffee? Then join! The best advice I can give for your interview is to be yourself, research the job role and research the company. Then let your personality, attitude and knowledge flourish.