Yes, You Can

Admin Officer – Day in the Life 

Like most other people, my day starts by jumping in the shower before anyone else does! I leave around the same time as my flatmates, so rather than all using the toaster at the same time, I grab a croissant or something on my way in. 

I’m usually in the office by 9.15ish, unless I’ve got a meeting that starts a bit earlier. Walking into the MI5 building never gets old. It’s one of those real ‘pinch me’ moments. You have to remember that you really do work here! I’ll quickly grab a tea and head to my desk. 

I’m an Admin Officer in Operational Support. It’s such a varied job, so it would be impossible to list everything I do. But, in a nutshell, I make sure everyone has what they need to keep operations running smoothly. First on my list of things to do today is to prep for a call with a police colleague. We’ve been working together for a few weeks, testing some new functionality and collecting feedback. 

I get to work with loads of different people – everyone from finance and recruitment, to information management and training teams. It means I get an insight into lots of different parts of MI5, so I’m learning really quickly.

It’s an important job, but things never just fall to me. It’s all a team effort! And I even have a development partner who’s there to coach me. She introduces me to people I’ll need to work with, shows me how to do key tasks and supports me the entire time. I’m never just thrown in at the deep end.

Even though my job’s important, it’s not as consuming as I thought it would be. I get involved in all the usual chat you’d expert – there’s such a great office vibe. You’re always bound to hear someone talking about the Thai they had last night or the lunch they can’t wait to have. Although in all honesty, that’s usually me!

In the afternoon, I’ll spend some time tweaking my write-ups. I normally do this with an Intelligence Officer. Another pair of eyes is always good as it helps to make sure that everything’s spot on. And I’ll often have meetings with my manager. We chat about how I’m doing, and how I want to develop. I recently mentioned that I’d like to shadow a Mobile Surveillance Officer. And after a bit of diary management and team organisation, we got it booked in. Most things are possible – within reason, of course!   

And before I know it, the working day’s done. Around 5.30, I log off and usually meet up with some friends from around MI5. Last week, my induction group went to a street food festival which was amazing. And next week, my team are going to Southbank to catch a movie. There’s always something going on. 

Technical Apprentice – Day in the Life

I’m usually up and out by about 7.45am, which is a bit later than my housemates. It helps me to avoid the queue for the shower and gives me an extra 5 minutes sleep. These things make all the difference!
I stick a podcast on while I’m on the tube, or just listen to some music. It’s quite nice to have some ‘me’ time before the day gets started. And once I’m in work, I grab some porridge from our canteen. Or a bacon sandwich if I feel like a treat! 

As an apprentice, my week varies between learning days and working days. For me, it’s the perfect balance of knowing what’s coming up, while still having a bit of variety. It keeps things interesting and fresh.

On my working days, I shadow different teams and learn all the practical skills I need. I can’t say too much about what I do. But I can tell you that I’m working on projects to turn my ideas into new tools for the Intelligence Officers and Data Analysts here. All apprentices get stuck in – we’re valued as much as anyone else. I get to grips with lots of different tech and try to push the boundaries. There’s a really big focus on innovation. We get involved with development challenges and it’s exciting to try and do something no-one else has.  

I usually have a quick break and some sort of caffeine hit at around 11am. At this point, the team I’m shadowing check in with me and make sure I’m doing ok. Everyone’s so friendly - you really feel like there’s no such thing as a silly question.     

At lunchtime, I sometimes go for a run with the other apprentices. It’s nice to have the time to get some fresh air by the river. I’m catching up with some of my induction cohort today and finding out how they’re settling in too. It’s good to know I’m not the only one finding my feet settling in! Especially as we can’t talk to our family about what we’re working on.

After lunch, I brush up on the techniques I’ve learnt and run through all my findings with someone in the team. I normally have a chat with my line manager about how I’m getting on. It’s a good chance to think about what I’ve learnt and how I can push myself. 

And just like that, the day’s done! At 5pm a few of us usually head out for an hour or so. There’s so much to do round here. Museum lates, crazy golf, secret cinemas… you name it, we’ve done it – or we’re getting around to it. But more often than not, we end up grabbing some food. Everyone in the team always comes up with a new place to try, so it would be rude not to! 

It’s really strange to think I only finished my A-Levels not that long ago. I never imagined that I could go on to do this sort of work. It’s so meaningful - you really feel like you’re doing some good. And I’m learning the whole time and making such good friends along the way. It’s such a win, win.