Spring into Technology Intern Review

The Bournemouth insight week was amazing, succeeding in offering a real insight into the daily routine of J.P.Morgan's technology department. The staff involved went above and beyond to provide a comfortable, exciting and entertaining week with several events each day and multiple opportunities to ask questions and network with different sections of the technology department. I would highly recommend this Spring Week to others.

It was obvious before the Spring Week even began that J.P.Morgan had invested a lot of time and money into organising and running the Spring Week at the Bournemouth campus, which made all of us who attended feel valued. It was honestly suprising to see just how must they'd done for students still years away from graduating.

For every event that revolved around producing some form of work there was always a mentor on hand to provide support and opinions to help you complete the objective. Outside of the working day itself, there was always someone on hand to deal with any issues that might have arisen with the hotel or transportation.

The insight week including several events that involved working as a team using some form of the Agile methodology. A demonstration on the first day showed the usefulness of this method and it was quickly adapted for use in other group work. Having enjoyed using it, I know I will be utilising this skill within my studies, and I'm sure it will also be valuable further down the line.

The insight was very well structured, it was clear that a large amount of time had gone into planning the scheme to ensure a very busy, but also thoroughly enjoyable experience. Each session provided a slightly different perspective to cover as much as possible, and the progression from one to another had a good flow, it did not feel like there were any significant gaps or jumping between places.

All of the staff involved with the events left a very relaxed impression, and most of the events offered some form of interaction, which was enjoyable. After the initial few hours everyone was involved and enjoying themselves in each event. A competitive event on the second day was particularly fun with all groups engaging in friendly competition.

The Spring Week was relatively short, lasting 3 days, and whilst it was clear the firm provides a lot of support and training for those under its employment, it isn't really feasible to expect any kind of personal training to be provided, especially as they must cater to a wide variety of degree courses. That said, they did provide some keen insights into Agile development, the areas and technical skills they use within the business and the way in which we can aim to develop these during our time at university.

The insight week involved two sessions of work shadowing, which involved seeing more of the campus and speaking to staff about their regular day jobs. These shadowing events gave a really good impression of the type of environment and role J.P.Morgan had to offer. The fact we were shadowing people who had either recently graduated, or were still themselves on the graduate scheme only added to this as it allowed for more open questions, which they were happy to answer.

The company culture is clearly something they are very proud of, and are constantly trying to improve, with all members of staff participating in some form of side project that focused more on their own interests than their regular work. This alongside the casual dress code and campus style workplace gives the company an honest, open and relaxed culture.

From the tour of the campus and the impressions I have obtained from the staff at J.P.Morgan I know that I will definitely be aiming to obtain a placement year with them, and hopefully more. The atmosphere, technology and staff were beyond all my expectations and I am confident that Software Engineering is the future career path I desire.

J.P.Morgan provided accommodation, transportation and food for each day of the insight week. Accommodation was arranged through the application process, and transportation through a third party they provided details for. As they organised all of this there was no need for me to send them receipts or anything like that.

Every day included some form of networking event, each of which was targeted to a different level within the firm. This allowed everyone to speak with current employees who were in placement years, graduate roles and even executive directors some of whom had been with the firm for more than 20 years.

The social events were excellent, with excellent venues, very good food and even an open bar on the evenings. Everyone was able to speak with many employees and it didn't feel pressured at all. This all gave a great, friendly and relaxed atmosphere that was perfect for socialising and networking.

During the networking events we were able to gain a lot of insight into the kinds of things staff were involved with outside of their usual work. Everyone I spoke to was involved in some form of side project, and many commented on the additional events offered by groups within the business in the evenings.

I would be very happy to recommend this insight week to all of my friends as it really was an excellent week that provided so much more information not only on J.P.Morgan but in general the kind of work and the environment it comes in that will be available after my degree.