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Preston’s journey has taken him from Washington D.C. to Amsterdam, and TU Delft to Booking.com. Preston shares his experience of our four-week onboarding bootcamp, where he learnt about software engineering concepts, tools and practices we use at Booking.com, that enabled him to gain first-hand experience as a Software Engineer.

I lived in Washington D.C. up until I started the Computer Science and Engineering program at the TU Delft at age 19. I decided to study in the Netherlands because the programme offered a comprehensive, advanced study of the field of Computer Science while offering a level of independence that cannot be commonly found at American universities. Beyond that, I was especially drawn to the opportunity to explore Europe. During my third year, I decided I wanted to stay, and though I applied to several jobs, I particularly wanted to join the Booking.com Compass: Graduate Software Engineering Programme because of the level of support Booking.com offers to graduates, and the breadth of expertise within the company, that makes it a great place to start a career in tech.  I started at Booking.com in September 2024.

The Bootcamp is an intensive four-week training programme where new graduates learn about software engineering concepts, including specific tools and practices used at Booking.com, to help us succeed in our teams and new careers. It begins with two days of global onboarding where graduates from across the business – including the Data Science & Analytics  – come together. By day three, we were split into small teams to work on a project together with support from an experienced Engineer at Booking.com who mentored us through the process. This setup was amazing as we were able to apply the knowledge and skills we were learning directly to a real project straight away. 

The technical sessions covered a broad range of topics, including front-end development in React (within Booking.com’s design framework), software engineering essentials like end-to-end application design and testing, back-end development, and production reliability. Before I started, we were sent some suggested pre-reading materials to prepare for bootcamp. I found this list useful, with most content familiar to anyone with a Computer Science background! The sessions are designed to bring everyone up to speed, and the team is super supportive if you need any extra guidance along the way.

I received great support from day one. Each team is assigned a full-time bootcamp mentor – an experienced Engineer from Booking.com who guides us on our project. Additionally, each graduate is assigned a buddy from the previous year’s cohort as a go-to contact for advice and support. Your first rotation manager also meets with you regularly. Last but not least, the Early Careers team organises the bootcamp, and ensures everything runs smoothly and ensures everyone is having a great experience.

The bootcamp is a great opportunity to meet other graduates – honestly it feels a lot like an extension of the university environment I was so familiar with. Early on, activities are done with the entire cohort, then shift to focus more on your specific team, giving you both broad connections and deep collaboration time with your team. There were also events organised, such as weekly lunches, ping pong and a celebration at the end of the bootcamp, which made the experience even more enjoyable.

The highlight of the bootcamp for me was the technical training sessions, and my favourite was the observability workshop, which dived into how to design applications for production, with a focus on understanding the operation of the application, readiness to handle real-world challenges, and ensuring that applications we develop are reliable for our customers, considering Booking.com’s focus on customer centricity.

I am most excited about using the knowledge I gained during the bootcamp to build real applications. I’m also excited to meet my new colleagues as I step into my career.

Applications for the Compass Graduate Software Engineering programme open in January 2025.

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