Software Development Engineer Review

I've had an amazing year and learned a huge amount. It has really made me think about what I want to do in the future, and made me include Software Development in my searches for future careers.

The Intern scheme at Microsoft is fantastic, and the full time employees know that. For that reason we are treated like any other employee. We get the same benefits and are treated with the same level of respect and responsibility within our teams.

I have had two managers during the course of my internship, as one resigned part way through. Both were absolutely brilliant; I felt that I could ask them about any aspect of the job, as well as my own career progression. They have both offered amazing advice for my future.

For 90% of the Internship I had a perfect amount of work. I was kept busy without too much stress or too many late nights. There were one or two short periods where my work was lacking but I was easily able to find other things to get involved with to fill the time. It was up to me how many extra projects I wanted to take on.

The level of responsibility was as much as I could take. Full time employees treated me like any other employee, and to a degree it was up to me to take on as much responsibility as I wanted. I personally ended up becoming a Subject Matter Expert on a new technology within the team, meaning I had many experienced colleagues coming to me for answers and help, which was great.

The skills I have learned will help me with my degree, my dissertation, and in my future career. I have improved upon existing knowledge and learned whole new technologies and software development techniques, many of which will hopefully help me obtain the first job in my new career.

The office was a great environment. The people were experienced, which was great, but Microsoft values can clearly be seen all around. Everyone knows how to have a good time and get the most out of their employees by fostering a fun, but productive environment.

Being Microsoft, and the fact that they've had interns for many years, the process went without a hitch.

I felt that my training and development was encouraged. Over the course of the year I learned many new technologies, became a Subject Matter Expert in one of them, and as such, took a trip to America to work with a User Experience team over there. That was a highlight of the year.

There are many opportunities to apply for roles within the organisation. The MACH scheme is great for moving to a Graduate role from a Sales or Marketing position, but for pure Technical roles like mine (Software Development Engineer) I found that the process was a little lacking. In the US, at the end of the internship, they can offer you a position for in a year's time (after your Degree) however no similar process exists in the UK. However I am in talks with people from the UK and the US about potential career opportunities, and I have many new contacts, which is great.

The Intern scheme encourages you to make friends and gain contacts amongst the Intern community, and there are many social events to back that up.

Reading isn't the cheapest of areas, but there certainly are cheaper options for socialising. For those with more money, London is obviously close and has an unlimited number of things to do.

There are a few nice bars, pubs and clubs around, as well as many nice restaurants.

I didn't get involved in many but I'm sure there would be plenty of activities to get involved in should you want to look into it.