Technical Product Manager Review

I feel excited and motivated to come into work every day and undertake the day's challenge. I find the role satisfying and the business very interesting. Every week I learn more about the business and my role, by overcoming challenges with my team, investigating something new or and developing my skillset.

I was surprised by how much respect my team shows me and how much they value my contributions to the team. I am consistently overwhelmed by the support I receive and how open everyone is to giving advice. It is empowering to be treated and included in the same way as an experienced employee, not a University student.

My manager is always comfortable to give me any advice about my role or the organisation. We have a 30-60 minute one to one session every week to discuss how I am getting on in the company and the role. He is more than happy to give both positive and constructive criticism, which is very beneficial for my confidence in what I'm doing as well as my development.

Most days I have a perfect amount of work to do. Sometimes, I'll have a day where I have a bit more or less to do. I very rarely feel like I am bored or too busy. Bearing in mind I am a person who generally enjoys being quite busy, I find this balance great.

I have really enjoyed the opportunity I have been given to grow and develop and make a name for myself throughout my placement. I am currently only 4 months into the year, but already, I have been given a lot of responsibility as TPM of a local team and Project Manager of an API project, in which I coordinate development efforts of software engineers in London, Amman, and Budapest.

I am studying Computer Science at University. This placement has given me a huge insight into what it means to be a software developer in a large organisation. I have a better understanding of how both front and back end software is developed at a low level, and how it contributes to the overall goals of business success at a high level. I have also reinforced my knowledge of software development methodologies, having adhered to Kanban and experienced Scrum in a professional setting. I have also learnt a lot about business processes and decision making. These learnings will help broaden my career prospects - opening up opportunities to pursue both technical and business roles.

The office atmosphere is very friendly and fun, but everyone is also very motivated, hardworking, and loves their job. Everyone is more than happy to give some advice or discuss their role, or have a more informal chat about hobbys and interest. This general openness and friendliness helped me settle in really quickly.

From day one, I knew exactly who my team was, as well as key contacts who were my first port of call if I needed any advice or assistance. The placement overall has been very flexible, adapting to my development and ramping up when I am ready to undertake new tasks. This has enabled my motivation and what I want to get out of the placement hugely influence my day-to-day.

Expedia offer many sessions for interns to grow and develop their skillset, and offer a range of sessions which enable interns to gain a greater awareness of the brands and teams and roles within these brands. Some of these sessions are compulsory/recommended, others are optional (e.g. code academies) for individuals who may want to train in specific areas.

I know a lot of people who have been offered a full time role at Expedia at the end of their internship, and I would jump at the opportunity to be offered the same at the end of mine. I really enjoy my role and would love to undertake it is a graduate. I also see room for personal growth and development in my career if I was to work at Expedia, a prospect which excites me greatly.

Everyone is very sociable. There are always people getting together groups to go for lunch. There have been intern and office wide table tennis leagues. There have been intern socials, office socials, and monthly events such as breakfasts/happy hours which always have a high attendance. These have enabled me to get to know other placement students and colleagues.

London is typically an expensive place to work in. However, there are many reasonably priced places to get good food and drinks near Angel. I don't live in London, but I live at my family home and commute - which saves money on rent, but my yearly season ticket was £5400.

There are many pubs, gig venues and bars which are not too far from the Expedia office. I have been to some interesting places on my placement, including Bounce (which is a bar with loads of table tennis tables) and Ballie Ballerson (which is a bar with a big ball pit).

There have been many opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work, such as hackathons and voluntary work. One afternoon, we helped a charity improve and modernise their website, which came with the opportunity to further assist the charity with modernising and improving their website in our own time.