Spring Week Technology Analyst Review

The placement took place over four days, which were well-planned and provided us with a good mix of seeing the day-to-day of the office, participating in group tasks, learning about technologies that J.P. Morgan works with, and after-hours socializing with the group. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable, fast-paced insight.

From the very start of the week, I was impressed by how the coordinators knew the forty-three of us by name - this instantly made it feel as though we were valued by the team. Furthermore, the graduates we interacted with, both on the panel and in the work shadowing, were very approachable and eager to share their experiences, creating a welcoming environment.

The most prominent guidance were the work-shadowing sessions: two insight participants were paired with one recent graduate with whom we got to interact three times throughout the week. This was highly helpful in finding out about the job, as well as in getting advice about what opportunities to pursue while still at university.

The week was focused on sharpening teamwork and communication skills, which are certainly likely to be helpful in my studies and beyond - asking the client for specifications was particularly stressed, and something I don't intend to forget. The presentations were informative, though could have (in the case of Big Data and Machine Learning) focused more on particularly how J.P. Morgan implements them.

Everything was planned to the minute, with a good mixture of involved activity, passive learning sessions, and breaks and networking opportunities. It was nice to end early some days, as the quick-paced program could be rather tiring, but also enjoyable to have a late bowling session with the group one day.

Not only were the organizers constantly involved in making sure that we were enjoying our stay and making the most out of it, the group of participants was a fantastic one. Everyone was eager to work together in the group activities, as well as to chat during the breaks, making for a warm and friendly atmosphere.

We were involved in several group activities designed to build our client-communication skills, were given several presentations to keep us informed about technological innovations, as well as provided with multiple opportunities to network with and ask questions of recent graduates and long-time employees, not only about their positions, but about the steps we as students should take to be successful.

The work shadowing was an invaluable experience for seeing what kinds of work technology analysts do at the company. One area in which the experience could have been improved is by switching up who we work shadow in between sessions, in order to better see the differences between the ways different teams work.

Throughout the week, it was made clear that the company values its employees and is surprisingly forward-thinking and not constricting of them for a large corporation. The employees I spoke with were satisfied with the way the company allows them to move between teams to find the area in which they'd most like to work, as well as how many teams make few distinctions between senior and junior members, valuing each for their contributions.

Having come into the program with an inclination toward this kind of work, the insight provided a good overview of what a technology analyst does specifically at J.P. Morgan. It was a good reaffirmation of my initial impression that the position would suit my skills and preferences, so did not put me off my career path.

This was a Spring Week program, as such, no payment was expected. However, travel and lodging costs were paid for, and the quality of both was superb. The travel from Edinburgh was by rail, and full-day tickets were provided; the flexibility was particularly valuable for the journey back, as the sessions ended at varying times. Lodging was of great quality, with each out-of-town participant receiving an apartment-style room walking distance from the office. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks were also provided, as well as dinner on days when we ended late.

On several occasions we met with employees who had been with the company for decades, as well as with recent graduates who had done the summer internship only a year or two previous. Plenty of networking opportunities were provided each day, and the people we met were invaluable at answering questions about the company and the field in general.

There was a lot of planned socializing with the other participants of the program, and by the end of it I had interacted with a large part of our group. It was good to have different groupings for each activity, and the bowling was well-planned for the end of the third day, as it was less structured and benefited from the three days of meeting people that preceded it.

This was not a large focus of the program, but was easy to find out about if you wanted to. I got to hear about the charity projects which each first-year graduate is involved with, as well as about various learning opportunities which the company provides employees with outside of work.

Without a doubt. The week is not only informative and productive, but genuinely fun, as the employees and other participants create a friendly atmosphere in the office. There are ample opportunities to learn about the field and develop communication skills, and the week leads into an interview for a summer internship in the following year.