Vacation Student Review

I am still not entirely sure that I want to pursue a career in software but I can't imagine anywhere better to do so than Metaswitch. The office space has a good atmosphere, the employees are friendly and helpful and there are many other benefits available to vacation students such as local accommodation in company owned housing and frequent events funded by the morale team.

The first day was spent making introductions to the people on my team and other key personnel within the company and that really set the tone for the duration of the placement. The employees at Metaswitch all seem to appreciate the contributions of the vacation students and there are many opportunities to join in with the rest of the company at a social level, which makes the placement much more enjoyable.

My manager was always on hand to help me with any problems I encountered, and if he hadn't been the chain of management above me had been clearly explained so I would have been able to seek help from one of the people further up.

For the majority of the placement I felt that I had just the right amount of work to do and typically achieved minor objectives every day, which was nice. In the final few days there were some unexpected problems that occurred which made things a bit hectic, but this wasn't something that could have been predicted and my manager helped out as much as possible to allow me to get everything finished in time.

When I was given the project I was told explicitly that it was mine, and that I would be making all of the decisions related to it. I was able to ask for opinions or feedback, but I had the final say on what did or didn't get included.

The skills I have learned from Metaswitch have directly helped me in my degree, giving me a solid grasp of C (among other languages) that was required for one of my computer modules. The job also makes use of a number of other skills that are more generally applicable, such as producing a specification and design from a set of requirements or re-evaluating a design based on the results of testing.

My placement was in the build up towards the end of Metaswitch's financial year and at the same time as some restructuring within the company to allow for future expansion, so there was a understandable amount of stress within the office as people rushed to meet deadlines. Despite this everybody remained very cheerful and helpful throughout.

The vacation placements at Metaswitch are fantastically well organised. Each year there seem to be around 30 or 40 vacation students accepted and the majority opt to make use of the company houses, which makes it feel very similar to living in halls at university. All the information you need is given to you well in advance of needing to know it and if you have any questions you can find answers with a short phone call or email.

The company assigned me a mentor (also my task manager, but these roles can be separate) to provide support and training in whatever I needed to complete my task, there is a company library of textbooks and many people have personal copies that they are happy to lend to anyone who is interested. By the end of my placement I was told that I probably knew more about two of the systems that I had used than anyone else in the company, which was a nice ego boost!

Metaswitch have given me sponsorship through this year of university on the condition that I return next summer, which I am perfectly happy to do! The company as a whole is looking to continue its exponential growth and so is always looking for new employees and a referral scheme exists where existing employees get a bonus if they scout out someone who later joins the company.

Yes! The vacation students made regualr appearances at company events and organised their own activities such as BBQs, meals out in town, LaserQuesting and gaming nights.

Living costs were pleasantly low, the rent on the company houses was cheaper than my first year halls were (and that was pretty cheap) and there is a good sized Tescos about quarter of an hour's walk away. Being close to London meant that socialising wasn't exactly cheap but there were many morale trips to one of several local pubs that meant you could get the company to pay for a drink or two.

Not something that I made much use of but London is a short train ride away and there are buses back all through the night, so if that's your sort of thing then it's a definite option.

There were a huge range of sports teams and social groups within the company that you could join. Squash seemed to be a very popular activity, along with football and frisbee.