Support Engineer Intern Review

My internship at CA has been very enjoyable! I like that you are given work, just like the rest of your team and this allows you to be hands on with enterprise-scale products. There is also many activities to get on with outside of work, like sports and the gym.

The team that I work with are the best team you could hope for. They are always there to provide guidance on anything and everything. As an intern, you may think that you are there to just sit around and take notes but that is not the case at CA. You are given tasks to do, just like other colleagues and we all work together to get through them.

The support and guidance could not be any better this. There are many interactions with management on a daily basis and any time you have a problem or need something, then they are quick to get on top of it and get you what you need. For example we have a set meeting every fortnight, where we can get coaching on something, voice any concerns along with anything you want to do. Apart from this, you can reach out to them at any time and they will do their best to help.

When I first started I had time to do my training on my product, API Management. As I became more familiar with this, I began to know enough to take some customer's issues and try to solve them. Throughout the year I have been able to manage my work well. There were some busy periods due to the popularity of the product but during these periods, myself and the team continued to help each other to manage the workload.

I was given a lot of responsibility. After my training period, I started to take some customer issues and for this I had to figure out how to help them. This means that I am interacting directly with the customers, and a lot of the time it can be big-name international corporations. As you are representing CA directly, the responsibility does not get any bigger as an intern.

The skills I have developed are going to be essential to my final year of studies. Going into my final year, I now have first-hand experience with enterprise-scale software and have learned how various customers utilize it in their different environments. I have also improved upon skills outside my technical role. For example, we have media training, which gave us a nice insight into what happens when CA representatives talk to the media.

The atmosphere is very uplifting. There is a lot of good, positive energy in the office and it makes work enjoyable. There are so many different people, so you always hear some interesting stories and learn some random facts from varying backgrounds. As an intern, everyone takes an interest into you and they make you feel very welcome, in all aspects of the business.

The placement was organised very well. Right from the start we were put in contact with all the other interns, so that we could get to know each other and sort out accommodation. Then throughout the year, there has been a clear structure to our various roles and every fortnight, we would all come together to catch up and discuss anything we wanted about the company and the internship.

Personal development is something that is very important to CA. In my role, each quarter we set ourselves goals that we can aim for. Management will then do as much as they can to support you in reaching your goals. There are many opportunities at CA for you to develop. When I started, I never thought I would get any media/interview training because it is so different from my role, but I did and it is another very useful skill to have.

Currently as it stands, there is no graduate scheme in place, but it is something that the company are looking to in the future. They see the positive impact that we have can have on the organisation and are working towards the goal of possible getting those interns back into the company once they graduate.

As we were all introduced to ourselves before we started the placement, we got to know a bit about each other and had some outings. Throughout the year this continues and we are always interacting with each other of a daily basis through the various activities/events that we do together.

I personally stayed at home and commuted, as I did not live too far away. However there are different local areas that you can live in but the price of living will probably be higher than at university.

The nightlife in Windsor is good but just expensive compared to student night prices at university.

Many activities go on at CA outside of your normal work. For example, I took part in football and tennis because I love being active. I was also fortunate enough to be involved in our STEM events, that aim at trying to open up the world of STEM to local secondary school kids.