Technology Summer Intern Review

The summer programme was incredibly organised; from speaker sessions to networking events, there was always something to do or somewhere to be. I really enjoyed my role and I learnt so much about investment banking technology and the finance industry. I was especially impressed by the people I met at Barclays; they were all inspiring and always willing to help.

Most of my team were based abroad. This made it a little bit more difficult to build relationships with them. However, they were all very generous with their time and incredibly helpful on calls and emails. I was treated with respect and like a full time colleague. The work I did was taken seriously and it made a big contribution to the wider project.

My manager met me at least once a week. In these meetings we would discuss my objectives and my main project. Instead of telling me what to do, she would guide me in the right direction so that I could develop independent learning skills and work problems out on my own.

To start off with, I was not that busy. However, after 2 to 3 weeks I was getting assigned a lot of work. As the internship progressed, I had more and more work to do, including internship commitments and organising events for the interns. On average, I was working 8am to 6pm everyday with a 30 minute lunch break.

My manager gave me projects that were important but did not have a strict deadline. This allowed me to contribute to the team without the added time pressure or pressure to get it right first time.

A few months before the internship started, the HR team reached out to every intern to ask what skills they have and what areas of technology they would be interested to work in. I don’t think I could have been placed in a better position. My role was very relevant to my degree and the area I would like my career to progress.

Atmosphere was very professional and everyone was approachable. It was motivating to work in such a hard-working environment.

Like I said before in my first answer, the internship was incredibly organised. We had a speaker session at least once a week and networking events every fortnight. HR was very proactive and would always help if you needed advice regarding your role or if you wanted to organise an intern event.

During the first week we had two days training. This included financial markets training and soft skills training. Throughout the internship, there were plenty of opportunities to attend workshops and online training sessions. We were also encouraged to shadow colleagues from different areas of the bank in order to expand our knowledge of the company.

I would absolutely love to work for Barclays full time and to develop my career there.

I would usually have lunch with other interns. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants in Canary Wharf to choose from for a variety of budgets. At weekends, I occasionally met up with interns to go to museums or parks across London. The internship also offers an end of internship party.

In East London, you should be expecting to pay at least £160 per week for a shared flat. If you want to go into halls of residence for the summer, you will be expected to pay at least £200 per week. A zone 1-2 monthly travel card is £124.50. If you are a student in London this will be £86 per month. The average meal out is around £10-£15 per person.

Although I did not go out that often at night, there are lots of bars and restaurants in Canary Wharf. If you want more variety, Canary Wharf is well connected; Westfield Stratford shopping centre, Shoreditch and central London are 15-20 minutes away by tube. There is also a cinema 5 minute walk away from Canary Wharf.

London is full of opportunities.