Software Developer (Intern) Review

Working at Softwire was a really great experience--it's a very friendly company, and there was a lot of focus on making sure that I was both happy and productive; there wasn't any pressure to get things done. In addition, there was a lot of support available to us; we had both a technical lead and a project manager so that we always had someone to go to if we ran into a problem.

Very much. The permanent employees treated us like we were one of them, and we were constantly invited to various company activities. There was never a dividing line between interns and employees, and our input on long-term things was welcomed, even though we'd be long gone by the time they came to pass.

We had a technical lead available to us in case we ran into any specific technical problems, in addition to our project manager who was responsible for the project more generally. We also each had a line manager from outside the project, to make sure that we were happy with our project and to see if we wanted to spend some time seeing other bits of the company. When people became unavailable, Softwire were very good about asking someone else to step in to make sure we had the help we needed.

Although I felt busy, I got a lot done every day and there was never any pressure from management to make sure things got done by a certain deadline. Instead, if progress seemed to be slowing, we were asked if we just needed more time or if it would be helpful to bring in someone with the relevant skillset to offer help/advice. I was also able to take a break whenever I needed one, so there was never any stress.

I had a fair amount of responsibility, both on an individual task level and on a more general level. Tasks were given to us as broad outlines, so we were able to fill in the details with what we think would work best both from a technical perspective and from a user experience perspective (if the task wasn't specific enough, we were able to get clarification). On a broader basis, we were split into three teams, and each team was able to divide its tasks as it wanted to.

I learned a lot, both from a technical perspective (C# and Angular were among the major technologies) and from a general software engineering and project management perspective. I think these skills will be very helpful in the long-term.

The atmosphere was very relaxed; we were always able to take a break from work whenever we wanted and this was actively encouraged (in fact, I nearly always ran into my project manager when going to the chillout). Things available to us included a ping-pong table, a foosball table and a pool table. Snacks were also constantly available.

Extremely well organised. There was a dedicated training period to get us all up to speed with the various technologies we would be using, as well as a continuing series of talks on various topics relevant to our project. This was particularly helpful as we could request a talk on anything that we weren't too sure about, so it meant that any areas of confusion could be quickly dealt with.

Extensively. Softwire, in general, puts a lot of time and money into its employees, and does the exact same for interns. Company funds were available to us if we thought getting something would be helpful to us. We were also able to learn about various technologies even if they didn't relate to our project.

Very. Softwire is a great place to work, and the compensation package is extremely attractive. I would seriously consider a permanent position here after university.

Yes; all of the interns were working together and so we became friends quite quickly. In addition to company-wide social events, we also had a few intern social events and they were all really fun. We also made quite a good group on the project, and I think we all worked extremely well together.

Relatively decent for London, though nonetheless quite expensive overall.

Relatively decent probably, though Camden Town is probably where you actually want to be at if you're into clubs and the like (software engineers, as a general rule, probably aren't).

Yes. There were a lot of social events, some company-organised (like the annual picnic) and some employee-organised. There were also regular pub trips whenever someone joined or left Softwire, so there were a lot of opportunities available.