Engineering Intern Review

Everyone at Sophos treats interns as a regular member of staff; there's no special treatment. This means that everything you work on is meaningful as your work is forming part of what is sent out to customers. There's a lot of variety in what's worked on to keep you engaged and interested in what you're doing. You feel valued as a member of staff and get to join in with different office activities away from your main job, as well as get the training other staff get to help you in your job and back at university.

You're treated just like any other member of staff. If you know more about an area than someone else does then they'll ask you to explain things to them. It's never assumed that you can't do something because you're an intern. There is a strong culture of teamwork and cooperation which really makes you feel welcomed by everyone on your team.

If there's an issue that you can't solve and you ask for help then someone is always willing to give it. From day one I was given a clear plan of what skills I'd need for the job and told what resources were on offer to help me develop them. Managers set up regular (weekly or fortnightly) one-to-one meetings with each of their staff to give some dedicated time to talk through anything that you want to.

There is a good work balance. Sophos have regular events for staff which help promote a good balance between working and the social side of the office. There was always something to be doing so you don't get bored or the work feels repetitive. If you ever feel that you've got too much to do then you can talk to someone and they're always able to come up with a resolution to bring workload back to an easy to manage level.

I was responsible for making sure that I was keeping everything I was working on progressing. If I felt that something needed doing as part of what I was doing, then I was trusted to use my judgement and make the right decision. A lot of software development is based around issues/tickets, and I was trusted to pick tickets from the list that I could do and were what needed doing. There's a good level of trust and freedom placed on everyone, which gives a good level of responsibility for your own work.

There so much in the 'soft' skills area that a degree just doesn't cover. Working in an open office environment makes it so much easier to get other jobs as well as develop better working relationships at university. There's plenty of things to learn on the technical side as well which you can then take and apply (both directly and indirectly) to your degree course. There's quite a bit of job specific training, but it's presented really well and in a way that you can generalise from it to gain better insights into the industry.

Everyone knows when you can have fun and when you need to get down to work, which leads to a really well balanced workplace. Sophos put on lots of different activities for everyone to enjoy, such as free Pizza and Halloween activities. The building lets a lot of natural light in and there's a terrace garden at the back of the office. There's also plenty of spaces other than your desk you can use in the building, such as the canteen, atrium and sofas.

Sophos made the process very simple, starting with on-campus interviews before arranging for interviews at their HQ. If we had any questions before starting then we had a HR contact we could get in touch with. There was coordination across teams to ensure that we could all get the chance to work in areas that we'd find interesting and that would suit our existing skill sets. They also helped by putting us in touch with current interns before we started so that we could ask them questions about the job as well as trying to find somewhere to live.

I was provided with the training any other member of staff would get, including training about the company and the IT Security industry. There was also a clear plan of what I needed to learn to succeed in the job, and resources provided to help me guide myself through developing these skills at work. There was also one-to-one and small group (with other interns/graduates) to help us learn the more intricate details of some concepts and technical skills.

Sophos normally offer graduate positions to anyone who performs well during their internship.

Sophos arrange events to allow interns to get to know each other. As there are interns on many different teams, it's then easy to build up a good network of social connections with other interns, graduates and other colleagues. The canteen has many large tables allowing people to have fun at lunch, and it's transformed into a bar on Friday evenings. Because everyone gets to know each other at work, there's normally a lot of interest in socialising outside of the office as well.

Oxford has quite a high cost of living, but the intern salary is set with that in mind so you can still find somewhere nice to live without spending too much. The cost of living in Abingdon, where the office actually is, is similar. The cost is the same as most cities for socialising; a fair price normally but with costs rising for special events. The company bar is subsidised so you can always afford to have a drink with friends/colleagues after work on a Friday.

In the centre of Oxford there's a lot of different pubs, bars and clubs so there's normally something going on to suit anyone's tastes. Prices are similar to other areas. On Fridays and Saturdays night buses run until 3am so it's easy to get home after as well. There's less on offer in Abingdon, but it is a much smaller area. There's still quite a few pubs though, and it's only a 15 minute journey to the centre of Oxford.

There's a gym right next to the office for people who like to keep fit, as well as plenty of local sports clubs and local groups to get involved with. Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities are in the city so they add to the amount of things going on in the area as well as bringing in a student population. There's never any pressure from work to stay late so you can do as you wish with your time outside of the office.