Marc BrĂźhwiler, Kim Corminboeuf and me, Matteo De Micheli, finished our apprenticeship successfully this year. Marc and I graduated as application developers at Liip Zurich this summer. Compared to me, Marc did an adult apprenticeship which took just two years instead of four. Kim graduated as commercial employee at Liip Fribourg after 3 years of apprenticeship. We want to share our adventures in form of a little interview.

What was the best part of your apprenticeship at  Liip?

Matteo: I liked the way I was introduced into the professional worklife of a web developer. I started out with little tasks like changing image formats and gradually got into more exciting tasks until being fully integrated in projects.

Marc: I appreciate that I got the perfect amount of freedom. That was important to me, because I was able to schedule my work days a bit differently. Furthermore, I had the possibility to do some things for school at Liip if required.

Kim: I already took interest in the “web-world” before, so it was really interesting to do my apprenticeship here. I learned many things about the development of projects, beside the financial and commercial aspect of the company. Liip is really fair and nice to the apprentices; I was always treated as an employee and not “just” as an apprentice.

How did your supervisor and teammates support you?

Matteo: I liked how Liip tried to integrate me into several projects, so I could experience web development from different sides and roles. There was never a point where I felt helpless, since I could either ask teammates or supervisors for advice.

Marc: I was always able to get help, when needed. I didn't have to be afraid to ask any Liipers, no matter if it was for school work or projects. Thanks a lot for that!

Kim: I had a lot of help for my school work. I was always able to ask a question when something wasn't clear and then use that gained knowledge in practice. The employees praised my efforts and I could reassure that it was important what I did.

What was the best / worst experience during your apprenticeship at Liip?

Matteo: My best experience was meeting all the people and them being so open about spreading knowledge. Through pair programming, hackdays and a lot of coding I was able to realize how much can be done when you have the right tools and the Know-How. Even though I always met apprentices my age at school I felt that it gradually became harder for me to stay motivated there. I feel relieved that I can take a little break now from the traditional way of education.

Marc: I'm thankful that right after the confirmation of my successful final exam, I had the freedom to join the team I wanted. Things that are of value to me like what interests I have and where I get the most of joy were all respected. Due to those choices, I as well made up my mind about my future and how I could progress within Liip AG.

Kim: 1 year ago we started a project with all apprentices involved. Our goal was to develop a project that helped new employees to memorize other employees names (like a memory game). I had the role of the PO and Matteo was the Scrum Master. In addition we had Simon Erhardt, Nithuja Nagendram and Mano Speck as developers. It was pretty cool to have a project just with us and it was even cooler that the project was successful! It was also nice to see the apprentices from other offices, even though they work at other locations.

How was your relationship to the supervisors?

Matteo: I had a good relationship with my supervisors throughout the apprenticeship. I liked how I got support at work, as well for school related topics. My opinions were always respected and I never had the feeling that I was treated differently because I'm an apprentice.

Marc: It was really collegial. I could step up to them with whatever the topic was and be sure that I get the right amount of support. Since I had work experience from my apprenticeship as a carpenter I was more comfortable with work life and that probably made the relationship more open.

Kim: Really good. I had different supervisors but they always were here to support me and I learned many things. They also promoted me wherever they could, which helped me a lot because I needed that to improve my skills.

We are very happy to stay a part of Liip and want to thank everyone for the great time!