Software Engineer Intern Review

The internship as a whole was immensely enjoyable. Having essentially zero prior experience with software, I came in with a few trepidations but these were quickly put to rest by the relaxed, informal atmosphere and the sheer level of support provided by my manager and colleagues.

At least one said he sometimes forgot I was an intern! My colleagues are frank and honest with their feedback, always sure to tell me where I've done well and what needs to be improved on and this honesty, more than what they have to say, makes me feel valued.

My manager was always ready to answer any queries I had but as the internship went on and I became more comfortable with the work I was doing, she also was very keen to have me take up more responsibility in the project and supported me appropriately .

Initially work was more or less constant, though the deadlines were comfortably far away enough that I didn't feel the need to rush through the work. Later on when the product was finally delivered to the customer, there was a different feel as the major work would come in whenever the customer reported bugs but these would have to be resolved as fast as possible. On the whole there was a good balance of the amount of work to get done and I greatly appreciate that I was not expected to work beyond my stipulated hours.

Initially I was placed in charge of creating a new module in existing software for a customer and I was surprised that they would entrust something so vital to me straight away. Furthermore, they made it clear that while I would be given as much support as I asked for, everyone else would be busy with their own projects and only my manager, whom I update weekly, would have a firm grasp of what it was I was working on. As the weeks went on and more and more changes went into the code I along with my manager eventually became the only 2 people in the office who would know what was going on with the product and was even asked to give a presentation to the senior members of the office detailing the new functionality and changes made.

The ability to write good, robust, well documented code is something that I believe will greatly help me in my degree, especially since I will have to learn C as part of my course, and later on in my career this skill will only help and I intend to continue building it up. In addition, I was given feedback on my presentation and communication skills which are essential for every job.

People in the office are always focused on their work and clearly have it as their first priority but are also friendly and approachable, non-judgmental and apolitical and ready to drop everything during lunch break, which isn't quite nonstop excitement but is I feel the right balance of being driven rather than obsessed with work.

There was work to do from day one and perhaps in part due to the project being so large there was never a time when I felt I had nothing to do. The deadlines and expectations were also well paced so I didn't feel like I was being squeezed dry.

The company built up my programming knowledge from scratch and my manager and colleagues went out of their way to ensure that I knew what I was doing and what needed to be done. Initially my manager would go to great lengths to comment on the code I wrote and how to improve it and as I became more familiar with the expected standards, she started to train me in other areas like documentation and presentation.

The company have offered me another internship at a different office next year and if the atmosphere is anything like it was at this office I would love to take them up on the offer.

Fellow interns were friendly and always up for a good time but also considerate enough to not be pushy so there was no pressure to conform and we were free to do what we liked.

The company provided a house with subsidised rental and the Morrison's near work provided food and daily essentials at decent prices. The local pub where we have welcome drinks was also affordable.

Not a nightlife person to begin with. Would much rather stay home on my computer, which is what I did most nights.

There was no expectation to continue working beyond the stipulated hours so our evenings were left to us to use them as we pleased.