Intern Review

I definitely enjoyed my internship at Metaswitch, the work was interesting and varied, the attitude in the office was quite relaxed and there were no strict rules so you could come in at 10 o'clock if you wanted to. The extra activities outside of work like sports and games were also enjoyable, and it was easy to engage with current employees.

I did feel valued by my colleagues, they took an interest in my studies and the work I was doing and always offered help if I needed it. At the start of my internship I took a small tour of the office and was introduced to the majority of my colleagues and they were all pleasant. I also took part in things like the cake rota and definitely felt part of the team.

From the start, I was given good briefings on the work I was doing and what was expected from me, and whenever I got stuck I was able to ask my manager or a member of the team I was working in for help. My manager also gave me good tips on how to give a presentation and how to speak effectively to an audience.

I was rather busy on most days, with work always needing to be done. There would be the current project I was working on, and then extra things like presentations or meeting or emails that would need to be sorted out efficiently. Sometimes I even actually stayed late past 5.30 to try and get as much as possible done.

I wasn't given too much responsibility during the internship as I was totally new to the coding language we were working with so for the first week or 2 I was just working through a book to get up to speed with the language. When we got going, the code that I wrote would always be reviewed by my manager so I wasn't really 'running the show'.

I have gained quite a few skills from the internship, and the new knowledge I have of C and coding and working in Linux will definitely be helpful in the future. Also, having attended a Presentation and Feedback session, I feel better and more comfortable when giving presentations to audiences. Having also worked in a team for the past 2 months I feel my teamwork skills have been enhanced.

The general atmosphere in the office was rather relaxed and fun, though sometimes it got pretty quiet. Lots of people were on holiday during my time so the office might be more silent than it usually is. It is open plan and a break-out area and kitchen to go to whenever you want to relax or cool down. There was lots of camaraderie too between the different units.

The internship was organised really well and everything was set up in a concise and efficient way. The HR department made sure emails were short and descriptive and sent on time and that all the interns knew where everything was and what everyone was doing. The company intranet also had lots of details on what interns should know and do.

The company invested in me quite a lot, which my manager made clear to me. The purpose of the internship is for me to see what it is truly like working at the company and whether I would fit in. The presentation training session and 'hackathon' were all done for our benefit and cost the company money so they definitely invested in me quite a lot.

Having spent 2 months here, I don't really feel like I want to go into software engineering. I talked with my manager at length about this and hence didn't get a graduate interview.

There was definitely a good social scene amongst the other intern students. There was a rounders game and a meal out for just the interns, that were well attended, and also an IM chat and email list just for the interns so we could all chat to one another. We also ate lunch together in the canteen. I feel I have made some good friends!

The company house that I was allocated was pretty cheap and subsidised, at 9 pounds per day. Socialising in the area around the town didn't really happen, but socialising after work at sports events or activities happened and that was rather cheap too. I guess because we're in London socialising out in the town might get pretty expensive.

Non-existent. We never went out at night.

There were truly a lot of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work! There are weekly sports games that go on in the nearby park or sports club that interns can join in just by emailing the employee in charge. I took part in rounders and badminton and board games after work, but the real highlight was gokarting!