Software Engineering intern Review

The work was always challenging, and made a difference to the company. There was a good balance between guidance from mentor/manager and encouraging initiative. Also, there was a good emphasis on development of the intern.

Everyone is exceedingly friendly, although there is still a bit of an intern/full-time split. Once I had a modicum of experience, sometimes my mentor would ask me to glance at the code he was working on, on the off-chance that I might spot the error where he hadn't, which demonstrated confidence in my abilities.

Ramp up materials were provided. I would be quizzed on the material to ensure I had a good understanding, and I was always asked if I had fully understood something, being encouraged to ask questions. Help was readily available, which meant I rarely had to remain blocked for a long time.

Usually there was a good amount of work to do - not so much that I felt it was impossible, due to estimates being agreed as a collaborative process, but enough that I was stretched. There were a few times I ran out of large pieces of work, but there was always something to be doing.

I was given responsibility for the enhancement I was working on. I was walked through anything that had the potential to break anything serious, but so were other full-time employees - it was simply if one had the knowledge to do something properly.

The internship is unlikely to help directly in my degree studies, but the coding skills I picked up will be very useful in the future, and I improved on many life skills throughout my internship, such as communication and estimating how long a task will take.

There was always something amusing going on, the atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone was ready to help everyone else.

There was the induction, then our managers picked us up and had a clear plan for what was going to happen during the internship, although it was flexible enough to cope with unexpected circumstances.

There was an Effective Communications course, a hackathon for interns where mentors gave up their time to help us learn enough to come up with amazing hacks, sessions to explain how different bits of the company worked, good telecomms ramp up material. My manager was very keen to help me improve, particularly in areas I felt needed improvement.

The working environment is great, the work is interesting - I am definitely interested in getting a job with them.

Yes - this was helped a lot by the company houses. Also, the sheer number of interns helped.

Thanks to the subsidised company houses, rent was extremely cheap. Other living costs were not high, and London was only 20 mins away by train for a more active social scene if you wished.

I believe there was one club in the area, that was never open when interns tried to get in. However, I didn't consider this a disadvantage - I wasn't interested in the nightlife. As stated previously, London was only 20 mins by train if nightlife was required.

At Metaswitch, there was an activity practically every lunchtime, as well as inter-team competitions and team building activities. It was great!