IBM Cognos Support Analyst Review

I really did enjoy my placement. Doing a placement with IBM allows you to learn a lot about the industry, understand how a multi-national company works but most importantly, lets you develop your interests and skills, whichever they might be.

I feel very valued by my colleagues. I feel like the team I am working with is very welcoming and we get along really well. My coworkers trust me to take on extra tasks and help them if needed

IBM gives a lot of importance to guidance and support. I do not only have a task manager, but also an Early Professional manager to whom I can talk to about anything. I also work alongside more experienced IBMers who have been providing guidance all year long.

We were eased into the role at the beginning of the year which was great, but the volume of work has increased over the year, which means I am now busy all day every day.

I do customer support for an IBM piece of software, so I was facing paying customers 3 weeks into the placement. We also have to create knowledge and report defects, so my role is very much one that gives responsibility

University courses were very much based on theory. Having had the opportunity to see the principles I had learnt at uni and apply them on a daily basis helped me really understand a lot of it. I found myself better understanding topics from my first year, 6 months into the placement.

I was in a secondary location, which means that there were less IBMers, less people and less clients on site, which allowed the workplace to be more relaxed. People are very friendly and I have bonded with a lot of other interns, as well as regular IBMers, of all ages.

IBM Foundation (the internal structure for placement students amongst other things) is a very well oiled machine. It is very easy to contact someone who can help directly or send you to the right person to help, and there is plenty guidance floating around about anything you could think of.

I was trained from day one to use a Business Analytics tool which requires licences, I also got certifications that I can now claim for life. I was able to take time off to explore IBM and see which other roles could be interesting. I would say IBM invests a lot of money into interns' personal training and development.

I would very much like to find a job with IBM. It is a great company which I feel could help me learn even more about myself and the industry. I will be applying back.

Amazing social scene. Once again, the size of the location allowed the small group of interns to know each other a lot and we have now become great friends.

I live in Greater London, so the cost of living and socialising is very high, and so is the price of transport. Nothing too surprising if you are used to London prices, and nothing compared to Central London either.

Non-existent. I need to take the train to central London to go out at night

Not so much around the area, however IBM has the IBM Club which allows us to do various activities all around.