Infrastructure Integration Assistant UKI Review

I really enjoyed working in a professional environment as well as working in a team. The work given to me by the team was the perfect amount to keep me busy but at the same time to make sure I had enough free time to help with other tasks and to volunteer. The work was also not boring and had the potential to turn into bigger projects at times.

Besides the occasional comment I felt very comfortable in the team. They all respected what I did and would let me get on with my own work before asking me to help them with something else. But when I did help them they would make sure that the work set out for me was something that I could do and if I needed support they would always help.

My manager and my team were very helpful! If I ever needed help with anything, I just had to ask and at least one of them would know the answer and be able to help me with any questions or issues that I was struggling with. They would make sure that I learned from my questions so that I wouldn't ask the same thing twice.

It differed from day to day. Sometimes there would be days where it would be non stop work from 9-5 and sometimes there would be days where I would have done all the work before 11am. This did allow me to do extra tasks and learn more about the company but sometimes days could get very empty.

Being in charge of every single mobile phone in the UK and Ireland is a huge responsibility because you can very easily do something that can cause a lot of problems. I also had to respond to a lot of emails that were only supervised by me so I had to make sure that they were all dealt with.

The only issue I had with this placement was that even though it was somewhat technical, it was mainly project work and team work. I do love and really enjoy project work but this doesn't fall under my degree of computer Science. Even though this doesn't fit my degree, I did learn that I could really enjoy doing something like this placement for full time after I leave.

The office was a very comfortable place to work in. The only issues were on some days it could be very busy and would be too loud or too crowded. Everyone around me was very professional so there were no issues with having to deal with annoying or unprofessional people.

The placement system at IBM was done very well due to have your own personal EPM that you could ask anything as well as a 2 day induction at the beginning. During the year I had to complete a placement journal which we would review in 3, 6 and 12 month reviews. This was all taken very seriously and had to be completed so that you would pass the placement year.

Besides my 2 day induction at the beginning. I was able to attend a few internal workshops about how to use certain IBM softwares. These training sessions were useful to my placement year however they are quite useless to me if I don't continue to work at IBM. IBM also offers a wide variety of online training and courses but this also applies mainly to IBM internal things.

I am planning on applying to the IBM graduate scheme because I have become very familiar with the IBM system and how the company works. Since I have been on a placement year I have the advantage over others as long as I put in a strong amount of work into my application. IBM offers a wide variety of roles to apply to as a graduate.

We have gone out for multiple work dinners as well as drinks during business trips. Most of the interns spend lunch together either outside or in the canteen. There are friend groups within all the interns here but thats normal for any social setting. I get along with all the interns and people in my team.

The cost of living in Portsmouth is very affordable depending on where you live and what kind of house. I chose to live in a nicer house so I do pay a bit more compared to the other interns but the house is very nice. Bus transport is way too expensive and very unreliable with a lot of late buses and cancellations.

I have been out a few times with my sports team and other interns and really enjoyed the nights. Portsmouth has a wide variety of clubs and bars so there is something that every person would enjoy. The pricing is normal for a student area so there shouldn't be any unexpected costs.

IBM offer a lot of give back events where you can volunteer your time to help out in all sorts of activities. Your EPM will encourage you and send you different things which they think you'd be interested in. I was able to help in 5 different events over the year here each involving either robotics or some form of programming.