Full Stack Software Developer at IBM

Wow, what a year it has been!! I’ve got under one month left of my internship as a full stack software developer at IBM, London, CIO Studio and it truly has been so impactful so my self development both professionally and personally. The skills that I have gained over this past year are no match to what I learn at university and the team I am in are like family. I could barely call this an internship, as this really isn’t. This is an experience of the real world. Real work, real world problems, real team. I never felt like ‘just an intern’.

My colleagues really are like family and they are always there to help out on tasks when needed. The CIO London Studio has a 'startup' feel that has a relaxed environment so that you can do your best work as well as have fun. My team often give fantastic feedback to ensure that I continue developing myself.

My manager would have one-to-ones with me as often or as little as I like, so there really wan't pressure to have to prepare something for every one-to-one. They were excellent opportunities to get feedback of how I'm currently doing and a chance to set goals ti further stretch myself.

Sure, there are times when I've taken on too much and that can be quite hectic, but I've never felt uncomfortable to bring that issue to the team to help balance the workload. The team has always been there for me to help complete tasks or take on meetings on my behalf so that I can focus on my work.

I was given just as much responsibility as what a regular developer at IBM would be given. I was expected to complete tasks of the same difficulty as what my colleagues were doing. Of course this wasn't expected straight away, but it was a quick ramp up from 'intern' to 'real developer'.

Honestly, the skills I have developed during my placement would never have been learnt at university. I was able to work on real problems, with a real team. This is nothing compared to doing a university project. The skills I have learnt will really put me ahead of my peers who haven't completed placements and will really allow me to shine in the future.

It was a really light hearted atmosphere where we would often go out for team dinners and outings. The team would always go for lunch together as well as have our daily ritual 'hot drink'. We never felt pressure to sit at our desks and were comfortable to take breaks when needed.

I never felt out of place or like I don't have enough work. The internship scheme has been running for multiple years and I was really impressed by the handover from one intern to the next. We had a two day induction before the internship started to allow us to understand of what is expected of us.

Whenever I needed to take a course to improve my programming skills, my manager was more than happy with it. As long as I had something to show that would benefit the team or myself, he clearly felt like the time spent was worthwhile as in the end it would produce better work.

Throughout the year I have been talking to my manager of how can I can come back as a graduate and what exactly I need to do to secure a place.

I lived at home.

Great! Great places to eat and go for drinks.