IT Specialist Review

Fairly enjoyable and was able to network with customers from fellow IBMers, Business Partners and external customers. Thankfully, my role didn't involve much monotonous spreadsheet work but deploying the same asset a hundred times can get boring after a while

Unfortunately Interns are the bottom of the rung in huge companies like IBM. While IBM is actually pretty good at making Interns more important and valued, rather than another pair of hands to do the terrible jobs, certain members of my team did lack the respect that I felt I deserved for the work I did. Even though it was the large minority, it does make quite a bit of difference.

Support in IBM is pretty good. You will be part of the Foundation or Lab Community, depending on what role you get. The Communities are large and more than happy to help you with any queries. Personally, my Task Manager was usually available for queries and would step in to help if I was feeling too overwhelmed. My issue is that if you are not in the Southbank site in London, there are far less opportunities for you. Same if you are not in Sales if you are Foundation. IBM loves their Salespeople and Consultants!

Pretty busy which is a good thing! I would say I had something to do every day I was in the office. Occasionally, the nature of work may mean you either have very little to do or too much to do at times. However, during the Internship, you will be keeping a diary so having plenty to write about is always a good thing

I worked very closely with the Events Team which organised the customer events in terms of dates and rooms but I was tasked with ensuring all the technical requirements were filled out and to a reasonable standard. I did hold most responsibility if that part of the event went wrong, sometimes if it wasn't entirely the fault of myself or my colleague. Of course, it is a double-edged sword and, most of the time, I received very good feedback for my efforts.

While I have developed my soft skills like organisation, networking and prioritisation, I feel that the skills I have learned in my day-to-day role will not help me in my degree. This is just personal because I do not an IT related degree so take what you will from my advice

Most people generally kept to themselves. Most people were either too busy or in calls/meetings to be in the office. Many people just work from home as well so a lot of the time, it was fairly quiet in the office. Thankfully I did get on very well with the people I work the closest with and that is all that really matters. We generally had a laugh while still trying to do a good job

Again, it went fine. The initial two day induction was informative and we got our laptops given to us then and set up. There were issues with networking to the IBM internal network with AT&T which many people had problems with, including myself. 3 month, 6 month and final presentations went by fairly well with a little hiccup in that my 6 month review was probably around 8 months into my internship but I don't mind that so much

Bit of an odd question considering I was an Intern. IBM probably would invest in your training if they was a valid business reason but I never needed it so I wouldn't know

Probably one of the best aspects of the placement. There is an Intern to Grad scheme which puts you in good standing to get a position in IBM and, even if you don't, IBM is always a good name to have on your CV. In terms of roles, there are a lot of Sales and Consulting roles which IBM really try to push but if you are more technical there are plenty of software roles in Labs. For someone who is in between, like myself, I would say there are plenty of roles that take your interest because IBM will train you in whatever role you take

There tends to be two main groups within the placement group, Foundation and Labs. They do tend to stick together but there is overlap if you make friends with varying likes and dislikes. It is a very personal thing really but most people are generally sociable and are up for get-together/night outs or whatever takes your fancy. Personally, I got on more with the Apprentices and Graduates in my team than the fellow Interns. Lot of competition to stand out unfortunately.

Living in London or Winchester (where I was) is very expensive. No doubt about it. If you want to save money, go up north basically. Thankfully IBM pays a lot so it wasn't much of a problem but be warned!

For Winchester, not a lot. Got a few pubs and 2(?) clubs which no one goes to so most people go to Southampton for the nightlife. I personally don't go out to clubs, etc so I couldn't tell you if they are good or not. Obviously Oceania is terrible but other than that, I don't know. Also, the pubs in Winchester are very expensive so you can only go for a couple of drinks

There is a gym and sports club in the Hursley site which is fairly cheap and easy to access so the opportunities are there. Facilities are probably a little out of date but it isn't really a deal breaker