Software Engineering Associate Review

Overall it was a rewarding experience. I got to work on real world tasks and I learned a lot about my job. The experience also helped me in my final year at university. I also managed to meet a lot of new people. I was also on the same project with a lot of the other interns and we managed to have many social activities.

I definitely felt that I was given a lot of responsibility. After an initial period of training I was assigned on a project where no one knew that I was an intern. I could work together with permanent employees, contractors and clients. Instead of being treated as an intern and being handed baby staff I was given responsibility as if I were a junior developer.

I was given plenty of support and guidance. I was really happy that whenever I did good work it was appreciated. I managed to attend several training courses which I found quite useful. I could also work across several teams which helped me learn from different people who were all experienced in their field.

I was fairly busy. Sometimes I felt under a lot of pressure. But looking back at it, it all helped me learn. I learned how to apply myself to what really matters and how to organise my time better. I learned that the effort made is not always directly proportional to the quality of the result, which is sometimes difficult to see in the early stages of a university course.

A lot! By being proactive I always managed to work without direct supervision. Towards the end of my placement I also provided support to some of the some of the other members of the teams I worked in. Overall I am very pleased with the amount of responsibility and the freedom to demonstrate my potential I was given.

I did not imagine that a placement will help me so much with my studies. Probably, this is because I did not know how much I don't know before I started my placement. I helped me get a very good appreciation of my existing skills and how I should go about developing further.

It was a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The management team of the client site I was working at tried to create a relaxed atmosphere with cosy furniture, areas with refreshments and large open spaces where one could walk. The people were also very friendly and always willing to assist.

The organisation was very good. Considering the fact that this is a very large company, we were given a comprehensive induction and a full month of initial training. Then I managed to find myself a project very quickly. Once I have found a project everything was smooth. I switched projects internally a couple of time but everything happened quite easily without any administrative overhead.

The company is really committed to the training and development of its staff. I was given budget for books, approval and even encouragement to attend training courses. I was sponsored for membership and application for a professional registration with the UK Engineering Council which is very useful for one's career even more in such an early stage when it really makes a difference.

I think it is a very good place to work. The development opportunities are definitely there. There are also many opportunities to work across different industries. There are also plenty of opportunities to work abroad and travel if this something that one fancies. Personally I really enjoyed the travelling aspect of my work placement as I managed to see a lot of places that I have not visited before.