Technology Analyst Intern Review

My internship with Deutsche Bank as a software developer was undoubtedly one of the most valuable experiences because of the number of things I had an opportunity to get involved with over the course of 9 weeks and a fantastic support network of recruiters, recent graduates, mid-management and directors and I would happily recommend the bank to anyone interested in tech in the financial services firm.

I never felt like I was just an intern who knew practically nothing about working at the bank. My manager was extremely helpful from day one and took note of my interests, strengths and development areas, ultimately allowing me the opportunity to work on a project where I was not only given the opportunity to utilise my strongest skills but also learn completely new things. I personally had an interest in Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing and my manager introduced me to a team in a different country working on a project using the aforementioned technologies, and they, despite me having joined barely a week ago invited me to their discussions and took my ideas for the application.

One of the best things about Deutsche Bank is how willing people are to take time off their schedules and help you learn something new. My manager introduced me to teams that worked in areas of my personal interest outside my team's technical skill set and they were more than happy to let me have an insight into their work. My mentor (Assitant Vice President) and buddy (Graduate Analyst) were present throughout the programme and helped me explore the work of other teams. The recruiters held weekly drop-in sessions to discuss absolutely anything regarding the programme. We had a week of cross-divisional and divisional trainings before we actually hit our desks, which proved extremely useful and helped me integrate seamlessly into life at the bank.

From my personal experience and those of my colleagues, the amount of work ultimately came down to the manager and the intern's skill set and willingness to work on a project. I personally had a perfect balance - I checked into the office at 8.30 am and left at 5.00 pm. I hardly left my desk for a lunch because of the amount of new learning, but that was my personal choice and my manager had given me the liberty to manage my time as I liked, as long as I delivered work on time. Multiple other things like interesting talks, an additional group project with fellow interns and networking events gave me a good enough break and kept me interested in everything I did, eliminating the need of a separate break! I could, therefore, work with concentration during my office hours and leave at five, keeping the evenings for myself and was able to pursue my hobbies outside work as well!

My manager entrusted me with the responsibility to develop a software system from scratch which was to be used as a proof of concept for a more efficient alternative to replace an existing system. An intern will definitely not be given a responsibility that is fundamental to the firm's operation, however it would be something non-urgent yet crucial that could serve as a basis for future work.

While developing my software system, I was expected to follow the software development life cycle as it should be in a professional setting. University certainly taught me how to code and the theory of industrial software development process, however, it is here that I learnt how it is done in the real world. At university, there is no hassle of access and permissions, therefore students often manage to find a workaround to deliver a working piece, however, restrictions, access issues and compliance requirements make one learn the difference between developing a system, and developing one 'responsibly'.

Everyone was cheerful and friendly, and always happy to help. We had the freedom to move around and talk to different people, and there are several places to meet and discuss important things with colleagues, or just catch up for an informal chat!

We had an app made exclusively for interns which had details right from pre-internship requirements to the very last day, such as immigration requirement checks, arrival locations, commute details, schedules and allocations etc. The only thing that could have been included was a starter's guide to basic IT facilities like desk phones, teleconferencing and video conferencing and printing, however that was sorted quickly with the help of my manager.

We had intense cross-divisional trainings, personal trainings, presentation skills training and divisional trainings, like Agile/ SCRUM Software Development. The training was fun, interactive and undoubtedly useful! We were also provided with e-learning platforms to learn about topics like compliance, crisis management, anti-financial crime and more details about investment banking at our own pace. As far as my primary project was concerned, my manager was always ready to guide me and clearly outlined the requirements and deadlines, however, gave me the autonomy to progress through the project as I liked, without a hint of micro-management, thus facilitating self-learning, which helped me immensely in gaining confidence in my abilities.

With plenty of teams to work across, different rotations to choose from and working with people based in major global hubs across the planet coupled with a generous pay, benefits and a formidable brand, the bank is a good firm to start your career with.

The colleagues were friendly and would often catch up for informal chats and meetings.

Personally not much into socialising, but the costs were pretty much what you'd expect around London.

No personal interest in nightlife, but from my colleagues' experience, London has no dearth of entertainment spots and is pretty well connected.

We took part in a day-long CSR activity which was immensely satisfying. Besides, there are many different groups to join and events like hackathons, meetups etc. which one would get more of should they join as a full-time employee.