Technology Engineer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the insight weeks here at Goldman Sachs. The days were structured really well; we had the opportunity to shadow multiple teams in different departments. It was great to see the different roles people do in technology, as well as given the chance to improve our coding skills and increase our professional network.

From the very beginning of the program it was clear that as spring interns we were highly valued by current employees at Goldman Sachs. Everybody I've spoken to has been helpful and keen to pass on their knowledge and experience. The work given to us replicates the work of current employees, demonstrating to me that we are valued on a similar level to current employees.

Everybody is keen and willing to help and you are encouraged to ask questions whenever you are unsure or wish to know more about something which is great. There is no so called "spoon-feeding" which allows us to manage our own time and build our own schedules when organizing meetings. This I feel was an important learning curve as it is something that current employees have to do all the time.

There is a lot of information to take in and this can sometimes be overwhelming. Not having a financial background, I learnt a lot in just two weeks about the investment bank business, finance and markets which will be useful for me as I wish to work in technology in the finance sector.

As I mentioned previously, the structure of the program was excellent. It had enough activities that enabled us to build on our programming skills, develop our competency based skills and also learn more about different departments through work shadowing and presentations. Furthermore, there is flexibility in the structure so that you can organize your own time and extra meetings to tailor your experience to you.

The best way to describe the atmosphere at Goldman Sachs is friendly, intense, and professional. All the employees greet each other with the same respect and interactions between senior members and junior members is much more relaxed than I expected. Furthermore, everybody has a passion and drive to deliver to the best of their ability under deadlines, creating a highly dynamic and intense atmosphere but employees all rise to the challenge and deliver.

It is clear at Goldman that the development of its employees is of the upmost importance. The weeks were packed with training events that built on our competency skills as well as our technology specific skills. This included presentations and practical workshops. Furthermore, we were encouraged to use the Goldman Sachs University which has thousands of different courses which can help improve pretty much any skill you can think of.

One of the best things about the spring insight program here is the fact that we had the opportunity to work shadow four different departments. This allowed me to get a good insight into the various different roles of technology engineers and their daily routines. In addition to this, we could arrange meetings with employees to get more detailed understanding about specific areas we were interested in. This helped me confirm that working as an engineer at Goldman was a perfect fit for me.

Goldman is an incredible atmosphere to work in. Lots of highly focused and intelligent people working together in their teams was really inspiring. It is clear that individuals are motivated and passionate about their jobs. Meetings with employees and work shadowing events made it very obvious how important company culture is to everyone at the firm and how the fourteen business principles are upheld by everyone.

Personally, I already knew that technology is most interesting to me when it is used to solve real world business problems. My time here at Goldman Sachs has confirmed that I'm passionate about writing software to solve these issues and moreover I can fulfill this by working here at Goldman Sachs.

I believe I was paid adequately. The fact I was paid for my work when many other insight programs are unpaid is good for two reasons. Firstly, being paid makes you feel like you are a part of the company whilst you're working here and this I believe helps you to get the full experience at the firm. Secondly, it feels like the firm values you more. It shows to me that the firm is willing to invest in me which gives you much more confidence when starting the program.

There were countless opportunities for networking and meeting other employees. As I've already mentioned, four work shadowing events were organised for us in four different departments - we were then encouraged to meet up with these people again and ask further questions. Furthermore, everybody is really keen and excited at the opportunity of explaining their role to you; making it much easier to reach out and arrange meetings with people.

There were several networking events at the firm; these included social events among fellow interns but also networking events with other employees. In particular Goldman Sachs has incredible diversity and I attended a Black Networking lunch where we heard some inspiring stories and got given some great advice. The social events were really good fun and made it much easier to relax and settle into the program.

We were made aware of all the opportunities that Goldman has to offer outside of the workplace and encouraged to make use of some of them. For example, Goldman has a gym which we were encouraged to use (they also provide kit for you!) and also we were made aware of the various charities and learning opportunities available.

100%. This technology insight program has been really challenging but one of the best experiences of my life. Being able to observe engineers in their roles at the company, having the opportunity to network with employees and also developing my own skills has been incredible. I'd recommend to any engineers or anyone with an interest in finance - including my twin brother!