Software Development Engineer Review

This internship has opened doors for me to travel and work anywhere in the world within a games studio.

We are not seen as interns, but as real employees and as such our colleagues designated tasks that they themselves may be given. We were not given easier tasks simply because we were interns which made us feel extremely valued.

Support and guidance was always given by any colleague that I asked. Each and every person that I have worked with here has been fantastic in their understanding of my work problems and went out of their way to help me.

We were always extremely busy due to the nature of the games industry and would crunch for weeks on end with extended hours and coming in at weekends at certain periods. However I believe this to be a good thing because it gave me a perfect example of real life experience in the industry.

I was responsible for large parts of the app with a primary focus on the UI which is a large part of the product in which the customers will interact with.

The skills I have learnt while on my internship have proven to be much more valuable than all the time I have spent at university. I have also been able to network extensively which will help me secure more job opportunities after finishing my degree.

There was always something going on in the office to keep me entertained, from the witty banter and jokes between colleagues (in good humour of course), to the casual game of pool and the occasional RC helicopter races.

The internship itself was seamless however there were a few problems with getting an alias (a user id for the network) at the start of the internship but this was an unusual case because I got accepted as an intern only a week and a half before starting unlike the other interns who had several months notice.

The studio has invested a lot into my training by ensuring that there was always help on hand by numerous colleagues whenever I needed it.

I have managed to successfully extend my contract with the studio which will look fantastic on my CV.

Within the studio, there were 3 interns, however there were also an external 100 interns which worked in Cardinal Place and Reading for their various roles.

There were many opportunities to Socialise, from the various contacts that my colleagues had to the many games industry related events that happened on a regular basis. While the cost of living was much too high to actually rent accomodation in Soho, the commute in was extremely easy.

Being in the centre of London, the nightlife was as good as it gets.

I got involved with charities such as SpecialEffect and GamesAid which have allowed me to network with many people. On top of this, I met many famous and influential people from within the industry from producers at EA to the founders of GamesAid and Mastertronic.