3 Months of Learning: My On-the-Job Training Experience at Annapolis Group Of Companies

SITUATION

Picture this:

I walked into Annapolis Group of Companies on my first day, nervous but excited. I was assigned to work with a team of 5 regular employees, all under the guidance of IT Head Sir Jules. For the first 20 days, I was basically their shadow watching them fix broken printers, troubleshoot internet connections, handle VPN issues, and even peek at how they managed the entire server. It was overwhelming at first, but I soaked up everything like a sponge.

Then something changed. Sir Jules noticed I had some programming experience, and he decided to give me a shot at something bigger. He moved me to Children of Annapolis (Forbes), where I'd be working on an actual web development project. I remember feeling both thrilled and terrified this was the real deal.

TASK

My mission was clear:

first, master the basics of IT support by following the team's daily routines. Then, once I proved myself, I'd build a practice website for Annapolis Group of Companies. There was also talk of me potentially helping with another project that my acting senior was working on. It felt like a lot, but I was ready to take it on.

CHALLENGES

Not everything was smooth sailing. Some of the company clients I had to work with were... let's just say challenging.

I encountered body shaming, unprofessional comments, and behavior that made me uncomfortable. What made it even worse was when they started making baseless comments about my family, shaming them for no reason at all. It was hurtful and completely uncalled for.

But here's what I learned:

you can't control how others behave, but you can control how you respond. I made a conscious effort to stay professional, keep my head down, and focus on the technical work. It wasn't easy, but it made me stronger.

ACTION

So I dove in. I took everything I learned from those first 20 days all the troubleshooting techniques, the problem-solving approaches, the way they handled different IT issues and applied it to my new assignment.

I started building the practice website using JavaScript for both the frontend and server-side, with SQL handling the database. It was interesting because my acting senior was working with PHP, while I was using JavaScript. We had different tech stacks, but we made it work. I spent countless hours coding, debugging, and learning on the fly. Every error message was a lesson, every bug fix was a small victory.

RESULT

By the end of my 3 months, I had a working prototype of the Annapolis Group of Companies website. It wasn't perfect, but it was mine something I built from scratch.

I successfully completed my OJT program, and more importantly, I walked away with real-world experience in IT support, full-stack web development, and the ability to work with different technologies.

But the biggest takeaway? I learned how to handle difficult situations with grace. Those challenging client interactions taught me resilience and professionalism skills that are just as valuable as any technical knowledge.

Looking back, those 3 months weren't just about coding and fixing printers; they were about growing as a person and as a professional.