Technology Intern Review

It was very enjoyable. The work was empowering, the community was supportive and the people you get to work with are inspiring. We got to work on a real world product which was entirely intern-owned. In our group, each of us played different roles each week, experiencing backend, frontend and middleware. Following an agile framework, we learnt how to ensure the scope of the project was well defined and develop a customer-centric mindset.

Everyone who me and my team reached out to, within the same business unit, outside, partners within the company and even colleagues in different continents altogether - everyone was super supportive and ere happy to help your product and you grow personally. The emphasis on personal development and the supportive nature of the community allowed me to grow, learn from and be inspired by many talented people. The community is something that is truly unique.

Our leaders have been supportive throughout the program. Supporting us, putting us in contact with different teams and sharing their experience and providing different opportunities. It is great that our leaders share the enthusiasm and puts trust in us interns on a real world product. That level of trust is empowering. Sessions to grow our knowledge and learn from experts in any topic we're interested in. Meetings with senior colleagues and leadership. Those are just a few highlights.

There is good work-life balance at Amex. Although there were a few meetings throughout the day, most were valuable and I took a lot out of each. In terms of software development, the project did not overload the experience, allowing us to speak to and reach out people we've previously met and build new relationships along the way. There was also an emphasis on personal growth, with time allocated for learning and developing your skills.

As it was an intern-owned product and as we got more comfortable within the organisation, we operated with a large amount of autonomy - being able to set out the direction, prioritise feature/focus and involve valuable teams/partners within the wider organisation. This meant that the responsibility changed depending on the product direction and as well, if you would like to reach out and involve teams, you can take the initiative and be the key contact point for your team.

The nature of the experience was practical. Understanding how a scrum team works, following the agile framework in practice was something I've never experienced before. Thus, being able to take from that experience will be able to help enhance team projects in the future, especially during my studies. The soft skills such as communication and relationship building was something I gained. The importance, especially for an engineer, to reach out and share the idea to get others excited and onboard is critical in a product's success.

This was a virtual experience so we did not really go into a formal office. Even though we were in a virtual environment, the team and people I worked with made it interesting and fun. So my experience has been wonderful because the people I interacted were all really cool and interesting.

The induction week got everyone on the same page. The teams planned the direction and pace accordingly, which helped each team work at their own speed. Throughout the project it was really great that learning opportunities as well as mindfulness sessions were run. Finding that balance and being able to understand the importance is critical for a healthy and productive lifestyle.

Our leaders have trusted us to make the decisions and be autonomous. Building those relationships, initiating a connection and bringing people on board - that helped me understand and develop my soft skills and showed me how much I enjoyed that. Having a direct and supportive team helped us learn and grow throughout the project with sessions, giving perspective and insight. And helped us shape the product throughout the whole program.

There seems to be many opportunities to grow within the organisation with many different streams and areas. Tenures are on average 5-10 years with some there from the time they graduated 30 years ago. This seems like a long term company, with a supportive community that you can grow in.

There were weekly games session and interesting activities that ran towards the end of the week. There was also healthy living sessions focussing of the life aspect of your lifestyle, with different guest speakers. Lunch & learns were common on any topic you were interested in.

This is not applicable as the office was in Burgess Hill but I was living at London - working virtually.

This is not applicable as the office was in Burgess Hill but I was living at London - working virtually.

Most events were held virtually, games sessions for example. By nature of the current global situation, it was difficult to coordinate and interns were living throughout the UK.