IT Development Intern Review

The placement offered exactly what I wanted to achieve in a year in industry which made it enjoyable and made me want to go to work every day.

Even though my official job title was "IT Development Intern", I was treated like a proper team member. My opinion and ideas were listened to and I felt like the work I completed was appreciated by my team and management.

I was given support and guidance from not only management/supervisors but also other colleagues whenever I needed it. If I got stuck on a piece of work, I felt like I could easily ask another team member for help and they would sit with me until I was comfortable to move on.

On a daily basis, I was given time to learn on the job as well as complete real tasks.

I was gradually given more responsibility as I became more familiar with products and processes. I felt like the team fully trusted me to make correct decisions.

The year in industry helped me to realise what real software development was like, which is something you cannot be taught at university. The placement helped guide the idea and technology choices for my final year project at university. I gained invaluable experience and skills during the year which I still use today in my job.

The office is open-plan, well lit and teams are sat together. There are multiple whiteboards situated around the office to encourage teamwork and collaboration. The office is always noisy (in a good way) with colleagues sharing ideas and knowledge to try and complete work in the best way possible. Everyone is friendly and you can often find yourself having a conversation with someone who you don't usually work with at the kitchen area whilst making a cup of tea/coffee. Every Wednesday there is free fruit and biscuits and most weeks it is someone's birthday so cake/treats are usual!

I was placed in a team developing a web application. This covered all aspects of the development lifecycle which meant that I was able to gain experience in each aspect which is what I wanted. I was offered the opportunity to move around various other teams to gain experience in other areas such as Application Delivery/DevOps, Security, Databases but I felt like I wanted to focus mainly on development so I chose not to move.

I was given every opportunity to learn whilst working and if needed I could have been sent on courses to enhance my skills further.

I was given a two month extension after the year in industry. I then returned to university for my final year and when I had finished, I was offered my first developer job back at the company.

I made many friends on my placement and am still friends with them today.

I lived within a 15 minute drive of the office so the cost of petrol and socialising is fairly cheap but obviously depends on what you want to do.

I did not go out often in Exeter but when I did the night life was good.

I joined the Landmark football team. There are also people who like to cycle on their lunch breaks/outside of work. Often there would be team nights out/drinks/meals.