Graduating from the Graduate Program- Jake’s story
Almost two years ago to the day, I began my journey at Macquarie Cloud Services working in the Hosting Management Centre (HMC). In Macquarie Cloud Services, I found a company willing to offer a wide eyed graduate a chance. With a clearly laid out path for my personal development and my career, this was a rare opportunity I could not pass up.
From the time I started as the quiet, inexperienced graduate in 2019, I knew this was more than a workplace. I was blessed with a team and management that made me feel welcome and part of the Macquarie Cloud Services family. There was an overwhelmingly vast pool of technology which I had little idea what to make of at the time. But the thing about the HMC is, your team always has your back.
Nearly 24 months down the track, I honestly can’t believe the progress I have made. Through the certification program I have obtained my Cisco CCNA, ITIL and Azure AZ104 certifications so far with my RedHat RHCSA coming in the next 2 weeks. It is amazing to me that a company would pay for you to obtain these industry-leading certs so you can keep improving. That pairs perfectly with the seemingly endless technologies that I deal with day to day, developing my skills in Networking, Cyber Security and Cloud Computing, to name a few. I now find myself as one of the senior engineers in the HMC seeing more exciting, fresh-faced graduates coming through the ranks. It is extremely rewarding to be given the opportunity pass on the knowledge and experience I have gained to the next generation of the HMC, knowing that one day they will get to do the same.
The HMC experience has also improved me on a personal level. Comparing myself now to when I started, I have gained so much more confidence in myself. I attribute this to the belief shown in me by my teammates and the support and encouragement from the management, which really empowered me to keep moving forward. Along this journey, I have made lifelong friendships, to the point where they would drive an hour (on their day off) to pick you up from the hospital when you have eaten something you shouldn’t have (Yes, that actually happened!). That act in itself speaks volumes of the relationships that can be formed here, and of the culture of Macquarie Cloud Services in general.
Looking forward three weeks and I will be graduating from the HMC and starting a new role as a Tier 2 Solutions Engineer. New team, new building, new role, you would think everything would be an entire refresh. However, throughout my time in the HMC I have had countless opportunities already to collaborate with the Solution Engineering team, so I have already formed a great relationship with them. Whilst I will certainly miss the HMC, this is an exciting new challenge, and I can’t wait to get started!
The way I see it, the journey over the last two years has been amazing, but it is only just the beginning and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career. With the people, the culture and the strong focus on development and your future, I could not think of a more perfect opportunity for any graduate.
Find out more about our graduate program here.
