Intern Review

Very much so. The work was interesting and challenging and as such solving the problems set was quite enjoyable. There was a great atmosphere amongst the interns, including a weekly pub lunch and picnics in the park on sunny days. The company has sports clubs most lunchtimes. Being close to London, there is a lot to do nearby.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. After the first week which was mostly about getting up to speed, I was asked to work on one of their products straight away. I was doing work which a full time employee would be doing, and by the end of my time I had made changes to the product which was soon to be shipped to customers. The fact that I was doing similar work to everyone else made me feel very valued.

I was encouraged to ask for help whenever I needed it. Help and guidance isn’t forced upon you, and if you want you can get on with it yourself. However if you ever need help it will be there for you. Once a week you have a status review where you and your manager sit down and discuss how your week has been. The environment is very supportive and you never feel abandoned.

At the start of the internship I was given a briefing on the tasks that I was expected to complete. This allowed me to plan my time for the 8 weeks. I always had something to do but never felt too pressured. I finished the tasks set in my penultimate week and for my final week I got set a shorter task. The work they set is achievable in the time and won’t require any extra pressure on your behalf.

The work I was set was going to be shipped out to customers within a month or two, so in that regard quite a lot of responsibility. All code designs and code changes I made were reviewed be a senior member of the team, so whilst I was given a lot of responsibility I was checked on quite a lot (which is definitely for the best).

With my degree (maths), not really. However for any future career in software the skills I have developed will be invaluable. I have developed my skills in planning and designing code and also enhanced my ability to look at code and see any potential pit falls. These developments came from both trial and error and review and guidance by my managers. For other careers outside of software engineering, not really that useful.

Hard working and at times fun. Being flexi-time people got in at different times of the day and so in the morning and the evening it was quite quiet at times. In the office building there were table tennis tables and table football which were there so you could get up and have a break from your computer. You were expected to work, but at times it was fun.

From the perspective of the actual work (information from the manager), it was great. I had a clear plan of the tasks I had been set on arrival and I could always talk to them for feedback. From a HR perspective, I thought they could have given out more information in the run up to the internship. I wasn’t really informed of the dress code beforehand for example.

From a non-coding stand point, we had a presentation feedback session, where we gave a presentation and got critiqued on how to improve our skills. From a coding stand point, if I ever had any questions I was free to ask them. A lot of the time, you are left to get on with it yourself but you are expected to be learning on the job and googling anything you don’t know. This method might be more individualistic than other approaches, but personally this worked well for me.

Once an intern you get fast tracked to the second stage of the job interview process. You also have more chances to make a good impression they take your time as an intern into account when deciding who gets a job (at least I believe this to be the case). They spend the internship training you, and so in general are happy to give you a job if you are good enough.

Yes! Most people are very friendly and get involved with as much as possible. At any of the lunchtime sport clubs, you won’t be the only intern attending. On most days we had picnics in the park and once a week an intern lunch. The company houses are randomly allocated and I know of some people who ended up with in a house with people who didn’t socialise – but this is not the norm and you’ll meet plenty of friendly interns at work.

I was living in a company house which was priced at around £11 a night, which for London is pretty reasonable. Enfield itself can be quite expensive, a pint is around £4 for example, but some places are cheaper. Same with shops – there are some cheaper grocery shops but if you go mainstream then it will likely cost you. The office canteen is also incredibly expensive - would not recommend.

You’re near London, so there’s always a lot to do! It’s about a half an hour train ride to Moorgate, however the last service is before 1am so not too easy to get back. Most weeks we had new starter drinks or leavers’ drinks at one of the many pubs near the office. There is also a great place in Enfield called Bar Form, with the legendary DJ Rossta.

If you enjoy sports, yes there are many clubs at lunchtime and after work (Ultimate Frisbee, football, basketball etc). If you’re not a fan of sports, there are board games once a week but otherwise not much. There were a lot of one off events which were great fun – an interns sports day and a week long hackathon, and an intern trip to an escape room.