Software Developer Review

The software development placement at SAP has been a great experience overall. I had the opportunity to work with a vast range of different technologies and learn from some of the most knowledgeable people I know. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here as an intern and I will truly miss everyone that I worked with.

From day one I felt welcomed into the team and everyone was super friendly. If I recall correctly, we all went out for a meal as a team on our first day here (or at least in the first week) and it felt as though I had joined part of a bigger family. You're placed next to your buddy in the office and they are always happy to help if you are having any difficulties. Being a small office, it is very easy to liaise with other members of the team and they have always been happy to help out. I have never been made to feel belittled or lower-than by a colleague and I believe I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to work in such a friendly atmosphere.

I honestly could not have asked for a better boss. He was absolutely fantastic and really cared about our team and us as interns. He went the extra mile to get us integrated into the team and went out of his way ensure that we were not stressed out or overworked. A very friendly and approachable person and always willing to help you out, he always looked out for our best-interests.

Initially there was a lot of catching up to do and learning about certain SAP technologies (HANA, XS). So a lot of the time, to begin with, was spent working through OpenSAP courses. Our boss had also set up a number of training sessions in different areas to get us settled into the development team and help us get to grips with our development environment. We were given a small project to work on (the other intern and I), which was described as a "nice-to-have" to help ease us into the development cycle and get us used to agile development. So we were kept very busy during this time, as there was always something to do. After this project, our whole team transitioned to starting a new project and this required writing many proof-of-concepts. During this time I found that there were times that I was not doing much work or that I was taking on a little bit more than I felt I could handle. However, these times pushed me and helped me grow. This is just the nature of the job. Once we had settled down into a new project that we were going to be committing to I was kept very busy and always had something that I needed to be working on.

As I mentioned earlier, our first project was a "nice-to-have" which both us interns worked together on. This was to ease us into the development mindset, improve our skills, and get us working in an agile/scrum team. We were given full responsibility of this project and this project is now currently being implemented in real life. After this we transitioned to new projects, as a team, and we began to work independently. Here I was entirely responsible for my part of the work and felt like what I was doing was genuinely valuable to the rest of the team.

There is no doubt in my mind that I have improved leaps and bounds since doing this placement. Since starting I found a resurgence in my love for programming and have found myself understanding and learning things quicker than I ever thought I could. Aside from programming skills, I have had the chance to work in a truly agile/scrum development team, have had to do presentations to the rest of the team, and have even been involved in the recruitment for the subsequent interns. This has truly been a wonderful opportunity and I will forever be indebted for the skills that I have learned.

The atmosphere in the office was generally very calm and relaxed. People are very friendly and jokes are always being flung back and forth, and you are never short of a friendly conversation. This is not to say that work doesn't get done. And if you want to just knuckle down and get on with your work, then everyone here respects that. As with any job, there are times when the pressure is ramped up a little bit and everyone is a little stressed out, but on the whole the atmosphere was very friendly.

As mentioned earlier, from day one we were given time to train up and get-to-grips with the whole development environment. We were then given work with our own intern project, which is currently being implemented for real. When our team changed projects there was less organisation and structure, but this is because we were still figuring out what work we had to do and what people could do. By this time, we felt like any other member of the team, and were able to take tasks off of the backlog and work on them individually.

When we started the placement we had a week down in Feltham at Clockhouse Place, which is our regional head office. Here we had a bunch of different presentations. This was really interesting and we got to learn about the rest of the organisation and how it all worked. And there was the F1 simulator. Then we started in the Knutsford office, we were given multiple sessions on getting started up with different technologies and understand different development philosophies. We also had a one-to-one every two weeks and our manager was always there if we needed them. Also every week we spent our friday afternoons doing personal development, so this meant we could take a break from work and focus on other things important to us.

This depends on the headcount in the office and if you have proven yourself to be a worthy employee. As it is a rather small office and is located in Knutsford, it is not necessarily easy to find places for the interns to fill. Having said this, it has happened before. Even if you don't get offered a job, SAP is great name to have on your CV and you will learn loads whilst here to help you in any further jobs.

Our office was relatively small but for the amount of people that do work here there were plenty of times when we went out as a team for dinner or to go and have drinks. We probably went out for lunch at least once a month. With there being just 2 interns in this office, and Knutsford being rather remote it is a bit hard to find a social scene at work. We did regularly go and play badminton together though and we have a pool/table tennis table in our office - which garners a lot of attention. Having said all this, there isn't as much of a social scene as you would get somewhere in the city or in a bigger office.

Knutsford is cheaper compared to London. But Knutsford is not cheap. I can just about afford to live here and have a bit of a social life at the same time. If you get an internship here, I'd recommend probably looking for a flatshare (rather than renting on your own) or living on the trainline and commuting in as it would be much cheaper. However, I have managed to maintain a social life whilst living here and have had a great time.

Knutsford is definitely not a clubbing town. However, we are close to Manchester - so if you're desperately in need of a good old night out then you can always go there and share an Uber back (unless you can afford a £30/40 journey home). Knutsford is home to many a bar and pub. Staff are always really friendly and there is a mixture of young and older folk around. It is very safe here and I wouldn't worry about being mugged/attacked. I have managed to make some friends in Knutsford and regularly go out with them on the weekends or after work and have a really great time.

As I mentioned earlier, we regularly played badminton with other members of the team at the local sports centre. I also know that others also played squash together. There is also a weekly circuits session that quite a few people go to. If you want to suggest an activity, then I'm fairly confident you will find someone here who will want to do it too.