IP Software Developer Review

This placement is a great way to learn a variety of different things. I found the work to be challenging, enjoyable and never boring. Everyone here was very friendly and really liked the team I worked with. I thought this was a great placement for learning and developing new skills.

I definitely felt valued by my colleagues. I worked on the same projects as the other members of my team, and felt I was treated like a software developer. I was able to participate in planning meetings and give input about what I thought and was listened to by my team.

I did feel supported by my manager as well as the other members of my team. I felt like I could ask them for help if I ever came across any issues. If I was unsure of what to do, then I would just ask my manager and I would be guided on what to do next.

I would rarely be sat doing nothing. Usually I was kept busy but if I did run out of things to do then I could just ask my manager for what to do next and I would always be given something. Generally there was a lot of work to be done, and I could sometimes choose what I wanted to do.

I felt like I was given a fair amount of responsibility and could make contributions to discussions about the work. The projects that I worked on was the same as what the other software developers on my team worked on and I never felt like I was doing something insignificant.

I learnt about and used a huge variety of different technologies which I had not come across before. I think that this will be very beneficial to the practical aspects of my degree as well as in the future in industry. As well as technical skills, I also developed the skills needed to work efficiently in a software development team as well as in a corporate environment.

The general atmosphere at Cognito is great and very busy. The fact that it is open plan gives the environment a friendly feel and you can always see what is going on in the office. It also makes communicating with other people very easy. I also got along well with everyone in my team.

The placement was really well set up and organised. Cognito have been doing placements for many years now and you can definitely tell. Communicating with them before the placement was very quick and easy, and they were always very efficient at replying. Settling into the placement was also made easy.

Friday is pub day. This means that every Friday we would eat lunch together as a team at a local pub. This was a great way to get to know everyone better. There was also an after work team meal out that was organised. This was a great for socialising with everyone outside of work.

There was a big Christmas party organised by the company that was really good fun. It took place in a hotel with the food and entertainment provided. The transport and accommodation were also organised and provided by the company for free. There were also smaller events organised such as go karting.