Intern Review

The project I was assigned to was very interesting and helped me learn a lot and pick up some new sql and python knowledge which was one of my main objectives upon starting the internship. I worked on my project with another intern which I enjoyed as we got to run ideas by each other and work together to find solutions. I would say the only negative point was that I only got to work on one project and would've liked to shadow a few people in other departments to have some more variety and new experiences.

I was always made to feel included. Everyone was happy to offer help or even take time out of their day to get a coffee and talk about their work at the firm. I got invited to social events and that gave me the opportunity to talk to people from other departments and gain an insight on their work.

My buddy was always available to help and went above and beyond to get me settled in. My managers made time for me whenever I needed guidance in my work or just wanted them to check over my progress. It was really great knowing that there was someone to talk to if I ever felt overwhelmed by a demanding task.

This differed from day to day. Overall I would say the workload was fair. I was always encouraged to leave on time as long as my work for the day was wrapped up and was given enough work to keep me busy at the office. A couple days were a bit slower than usual when the office was a bit more empty but I found that that was a good opportunity to catch up on admin work.

I feel as though I was given a fair amount of responsibility. The project I worked on did not have stringent guidelines and so a lot of the decisions and choices made came directly from me. This helped me feel more confident and sure of myself which is something that I always felt I needed to work on.

The coding I learnt over the internship will be very useful to me. As my degree is quite a broad engineering degree I feel like I will be able to apply a lot of the new skills I developed to my third year projects. Working in a team also helped me further develop my teamwork and leadership skills, especially in a work environment, which I think will definitely be beneficial to me both at university and beyond.

The atmosphere was great. Everyone was really friendly and caring. I felt as though the people around me took a genuine interest in whether or not I was enjoying my time during the internship. It has been great working at an office where there is a generally energetic and friendly atmosphere. The company clearly cares about their employees providing fruit, breakfast, coffee and snacks on every floor... I always looked forward to coming into the office.

The initial organization was pretty disappointing. This was due to the recruitment team which was disorganized, however when I arrived in my department my managers and buddy spent a lot of time making sure everything would be solved quickly. I spent the first couple weeks without a laptop and without a staff number and I was only given my staff pass to get into the office in the fifth week of my six week internship. My director apologised multiple times on behalf of recruitment and the firm in general and she was very helpful in getting everything set up.

I felt like quite a lot of time was put into choosing the right project for me in order to help me pick up as much knowledge as possible over the six weeks. I was also included in team meetings and several colleagues offered to run me through their projects and show me what softwares they were using. This was really helpful and I was surprised that so many people offered to do this and took the time to talk to me.

I would definitely seriously consider joining the firm after I finish my studies. As I still have two years of studies left I'm still not sure what I want to do beyond that but the firm have provided me with a clear and positive picture of what I could be doing.

The social scene was fantastic. The interns were all given the opportunity to meet at our training camp in Windsor which lasted for 3 days which was great because we really got the chance to bond. I feel as though I've definitely made some friends for life and we continue to meet for lunch at the office and after work drinks every week. This has also been helpful in terms of work as it gave me the chance to understand what kind of work they were doing in the other departments.

I live close by to the office I was working in so I was already accustomed to the extortionate London prices. As a student I usually don't let myself spend on going out so that I can afford the necessities however the fact that the internship was paid (unlike many others) was so helpful. The pay also helped motivate me to work harder.

Lots of nice bars and pubs.

Yes! My managers invited me for drinks after work several times, I was invited to a baby shower by another colleague and in my final week I got to go to a women in tech lunch organized by the firm. I was pleased that I was encouraged to go to events such as the tech lunch.