Intern Review
by Metaswitch Networks
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.6
-
The Company
4.6
-
The Culture
4.5
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I found the experience of programming to be much more enjoyable than I expected, so the work was interesting and enjoyable.
My manager and mentor spent a lot of time helping me when I needed it, and appreciated my comments and thoughts. The other interns were also great!
I started out needing a lot of help, but as I progressed I asked for help less often. My mentor was excellent - he always assumed that when I had a problem it was because he hadn't explained things well enough rather than me being slow - which made it easy to ask for help.
I worked independently and had to estimate how long things would take me, so there was some flexibility as to how busy I was. Most of the time I had just enough work to be doing.
Whilst my manager set long term deadlines and my mentor was around for advice, I was responsible for deciding how best to design the feature required (with advice from experts).
Programming is useful to me as a Physicist, and this internship took me from absolute beginner to competent very quickly. Presentation skills are also emphasised, which was useful.
The Company
Obviously there were lots of stereotypical geeks around (it is a programming company after all), but the atmosphere was very friendly and there was a strong sense of community between the 30 interns.
Well organised
The emphasis at Metaswitch is definitely on tailoring the internship to the intern. My manager made sure that I was being stretched but my mentor was there to teach me and help me out when I got stuck. Presentation and writing skills were also actively developed.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
If you want to work as a programmer, Metaswitch is an amazing place to work. They are consistently near the top of the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies To Work For, which I can wholeheartedly agree with! The people are great, the managers approachable, and the job is interesting and of course well paid.
The Culture
Just like being at university! There are 30 other interns who live in company subsidised accommodation, so there was lots going on. We had squash games, nights out, poker nights, and many, many trips to the pub (averaging 2-3 a week) on the company tab.
For being so close to London it was quite cheap - subsidised accommodation and company tab at the pub also helped!
Enfield itself is not great, but it is 30mins from London by train so you have the London nightlife within easy reach.
Lots of sports during lunchtime or after work - from Ultimate Frisbee to Badminton. No shortage of things to get involved in.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
London
October 2010
