Software Development Intern Review

by Metaswitch Networks

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.7/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    3.6
  • The Culture
    3.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I enjoyed my internship a great deal, it was a really good experience and I generally enjoyed the work I was doing. I liked that I was working on a project that genuinely felt valuable and useful. It was a good environment in which to work, and I appreciated that there were many other interns within the company, and that many social events were arranged to make us all feel very comfortable within the company. The vacathon which was arranged for us was also enjoyable, and was a nice opportunity to try out different things and work in a small group on a project, something that I've not really experienced before but enjoyed.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I felt like my opinions and work were generally well valued by my colleagues, I felt able to suggest changes to the design that I was working on, and that my suggestions were taken seriously and considered - and frequently were what I then implemented. There was also a good environment among all the interns in the company, which made me feel fairly at home within the company. This was a good way of stopping it feeling like you were the only one who was a bit out of their depths at time, as well as it being interesting to hear about the kinds of things other people were working on elsewhere in the company.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • The level of support I received from my manager and my mentor was excellent. My mentor, and other members of the team, was always there to assist me when I was having issues with anything, and provided support when I was stuck. Equally he was good at not just giving me answers/solutions when I was struggling, but instead helping and guiding me to find them for myself. My manager's support was a bit more distant, though I knew that if I found myself in need of his help that it was available, and our weekly status meetings meant I knew he was in the loop with what I was doing, and was able to offer advice when necessary.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • I was generally reasonably busy, but not too much so. For the majority of my internship I was just working on my main project, largely under my own steam in terms of arranging my time, although my mentor & manager both helped me work out what needed doing. The deadlines I was working too were based on estimates I had made myself, with my mentor's help, so I didn't feel like I was particularly being rushed to do anything. When I completed my main project, towards the end of my internship, there were times when I had less to do as I was mainly tying up loose ends on the various things I had been working on.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was generally responsible for my own work, the deadlines I was working to in terms of finishing work were largely based on my own estimations, and were long term rather than short. Having flexible working hours also added to this, as I was able to largely work to my own timing which was nice. In terms of the design of the project I was working on, I tended to check with my mentor before making changes to the fundamental design, but the way that I wrote the code to achieve that was my own choice, or reasonably so anyway.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I think that I have gained skills in managing my time, and estimating how long things will take me to carry out which will be useful both in my degree studies and beyond. I have also learnt a lot technically about writing code, and how to use a new programming language, which while unlikely to be helpful in my degree studies may well be helpful beyond that if I decide that I do wish to pursue a career in software. I have also gained confidence in my ability to write code and work in such a company which I also expect will be valuable in my life generally.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • There was generally a good atmosphere in the office. In terms of working there was a sense that people were being productive, but also collaborative and it was generally a nice place to work. There was also quite a social atmosphere with various opportunities for socialising, and interacting with other people in the company which was nice.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The internship was set up well, from the application process, through the interview and into my actual internship. I knew where I stood and what needed doing most of the time. There were a few delays, for example the contracts were sent out quite a lot later than I was told they would be - which wasn't a problem, but was mildly annoying as I was expecting it to arrive and it didn't for a long time. The actual internship has generally been well organised, my manager & mentor were both actually away the day I started, which wasn't ideal, but another member of my team looked after me for the day so it was okay. My computer etc. were all set up for me when I arrived which meant I could get into settling in without having to worry about that kind of thing.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • I spent the beginning of my internship teaching myself to use C, which I was using in my project, which is something that will likely be useful in the future, There were also quite a few lunchtime sessions where various members of the company presented on a variety of topics to all the interns. I also took part in a mind gym session which the company organised, which was quite interesting.

    3/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    Financial Bonus

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I would potentially be interested in coming back to work at the company in the future, and have been offered another internship for next summer. At the moment I have not accepted that offer as I think I want to explore different employment options and areas, I am not currently sure that software is definitely something that I want to go into. However if I do decide I want to work in that area I would definitely consider the company as somewhere to work.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • There was, the intern community was very friendly - we tended to have lunch together which was nice. The company also have welcome drinks after each person's first day, for intern starters all the other interns are invited which means that we rapidly got to know each other which was nice. There was also an entire "Intern Activity Week" which included an in-company careers fair to see that various parts of the company, a morale trip, and a three day Hackathon which was really good fun.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • I stayed in a company house during my internship which had very reasonable rent per night and came out of my paycheck which was very helpful. The area was quite reasonably priced, there were also good links into London which with a railcard on my oyster card was quite reasonable and convenient.

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • There were quite a few pubs within the town, as well as good train links into London where there is obviously a lot going on. There are also lots of restaurants in the town.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • There are lots of activities within the company for non-work things, such as various sports activities at lunch time, a board games club every week and far more besides that I didn't personally interact with. While I was at the company there was also a company wide game tournament, with many different rounds from running to countdown, from three-way football to a bake off. This provided many opportunities to get involved in different things with co-workers, as everyone was involved and could choose to take part in as many or as few of the activities available.

    4/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

London

September 2017


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