Software engineer Review

During the year I got to work on 3 projects so I felt like I was always learning something new which I enjoyed. There were a lot of other placement students here so it was easy to make friends. Sony has a SPY program (student placement year) where they bring all of their placement students in the area together to do team building activities.

My colleagues valued me and would be happy to help me out if there was something I could not do or a concept I was struggling with. At Sony there is a very open and inviting working environment. At the end of each of the three projects, the other placement students and I would give a presentation on what we had done and learnt during the project. This conveyed the idea that all my other colleagues cared and were interested in the contribution we were making.

I had a supervisor assigned to me who would help me if ever I needed it. All other colleges have been very approachable and many have given me help. For the vast majority of the time, however, I would use Google to help me with the problems I ran into. On 4 occasions during the year, all the Sony placement students were brought together for team and skill building activities. For example, they would give us guidance on our career paths.

I had a lot of independence with the projects that I was on. This meant that I did not have many deadlines so work was very relaxed and stress free. I never ran out of work because none of my projects came to an end, there was always more features to add or more concepts to learn. I would be moved onto the next project before the current one could come to its natural conclusion.

For two of my projects, I was the only developer so I had a lot of responsibility for the decisions made. My first project, making a virtual reality car showroom, was very successful and I was given the opportunity to demonstrate it at a trade show, ISE Amsterdam and then later at a second trade show, ITEC Rotterdam. For major decisions I would always consult my supervisor.

The skill that I have gained during my placement will be invaluable in my degree and career going forward. I have covered a lot of the content that will be in my later modules such as C programming, LaTex report writing, image recognition algorithms and concepts, communication protocols. My time and achievements at Sony will be incredibly valuable when it comes to applying for jobs after graduating.

The atmosphere in my department at Sony is very relaxed and stress free. This is partly because work is not deadline based. Everyone is very friendly and happy to provide any help and support. If ever I have had concerns or questions my bosses have been willing to listen and provide feedback as to why a certain decision was made.

Important information was only given a month or two before the placement started. All of the placement students were supposed to be put in contact with each other beforehand so as to help in finding accommodation however this did not happen and I had no support in finding a place to live. I had to go through my uni to find people who were previously on this placement to get information such details of the Sony run bus.

There was a SPY program put in place (student placement year). This program concisted of four days where all the Sony placement students in the area were brought together to work on various skills. For example, in one session they evaluated our CVs and gave feedback to help in when we leave. Most of my development came from working on the project and independently learning new skills and concepts.

I have enjoyed working at Sony and would consider future employment. There are many projects being undertaken so I would feel like I had a lot of opportunities to learn new things and develop my career.

There were many other placement students and we quickly got to know each other and would eat lunch together. During the year we organised many social events outside of work.

Rent is around £500 a month for a room in a shared house. The south of England has high house prices. I found that it was easy to save money during my placement and still socialise and live in a good house. The town I lived in was not the best for social events but there was good transport links to nearby cities.

The nightlife was not brilliant. Only one night club.

There are many activities to take part in in the local area especially since work was very social and easy to meet knew people.