Summer Technology Analyst Review

Very much enjoyed my time at JP Morgan. My team were exceptionally friendly and welcoming, they encouraged me to ask for help if I was ever struggling and when that time came they were always accommodating. Outside of the team, the company made the interns feel wanted with many interesting networking and social events throughout.

All of the colleagues in my team were very friendly and were willing to spend time explaining their role within the firm. I was invited to an offsite event in Bournemouth (I was based in Glasgow) to meet other interns and I was also invited out to team social events and treated like any other colleague was.

My manager and mentor regularly checked up on me to ensure I was both coping with the workload and enjoying myself. They also gave clear, actionable feedback and recognised when that feedback was acted upon. Furthermore, there was little pressure placed upon me to deliver work quickly. Instead, they provided an open learning environment.

For the first week or so I was finding it a little difficult to find things to do all day, due to getting everything I needed installed and set up. However, the company subscription to Pluralsight helped with that. After the initial set up I always had something to be doing.

I was working on real issues that would eventually become production code, as opposed to working on a tangential project loosely related to the team's function. This came with a slow upstart and a steep learning curve but was ultimately worth it as I left feeling that I had made a real difference to the team's product.

I learned an exceptional amount about the overall software development process and how agile, international teams operate. I was exposed to many new technologies and tools which I plan to use for my dissertation in my final year at university. I also feel confident going to work as a professional developer now.

Everyone was friendly and relaxed, the atmosphere, in general, was laid back. I believe this can change on a team by team basis but I was given a lot of freedom with regards to working hours and schedule. Work at home days were even permitted as long as you didn't take advantage of them.

Exceptionally well organised. There were numerous intern events organised throughout the internship, varying from networking events, intra-intern social events, to speaker sessions from executives from the top of the firm. There was also a mid-term review session to give us feedback on how we were performing, allowing us to make changes if necessary to try and get the offer.

There wasn't a lot of useful training, but there was certainly a lot of training. Most of it was boring, corporate or legal training which is, of course, necessary when working for a bank or financially regulated institution. There was little technical training, but the company's subscription to Pluralsight came in handy!

The salary is fantastic, it would be very difficult to find a better starting salary as a grad, and almost impossible to find a better salary as an intern. As well as the financial attraction, the immense size and international reach of the firm is inviting. The company is its own micro job market.