Spring Week Intern (Technology) Review

I enjoyed the the 2018 Corporate Spring into Technology insight programme thoroughly. As someone with minimal background in both finance and technology, it provided real insight into how technology drives the operations in a firm as large and international as J.P. Morgan. My only suggestion is that it should have been slightly longer (e.g. 5 days) instead of the 3 days I did.

I feel very valued not just by the recruiters but by other employees, senior and junior alike. It was clear that they were interested in what we had to say and what we thought of the programme, and our concerns (if any) were promptly dealt with. Definitely a week to remember!

We received adequate guidance / support where necessary e.g. during group coding activities. My mentor was absolutely amazing - he could strike the balance between providing us with the necessary assistance for us to make progress, while stopping short of spoonfeeding us. Throughout the week I always felt challenged but without feeling demoralised.

I was introduced to many kinds of technologies used, which has increased my awareness and sparked my interest in them. They have definitely influenced my course choices for this year and the year beyond, and have further solidified my idea of career path for the next 5 years at least.

It was very well structured, there was never any confusion as to where we were supposed to be or what we were going to do next. There was a right balance between work and play (personally), although others did suggest that they wanted more time shadowing. Beyond that, I didn't think there was any fault.

Everyone was really smart and chill, and they were just as eager and curious to learn new stuff as I am. Being one of the most inexperienced in the cohort, I never felt intimidated during the week, and everyone was very helpful and kind. There were numerous socials organised with full-time employees which was fun as well.

We had numerous group activities emphasising on the Agile workflow, as well teamwork, both key in-demand skills regardless of which company we end up working for. We were also taught the key competencies that employers look out for, but as it was just 3 days long there were limited opportunities.

We had multiple opportunities to shadow full-time employees, which gave us a real taste of what working full-time in the firm looks like. It is on us to ask relevant questions to the employee that we shadow, to ensure that we maximise the impact of this opportunity. Overall, I felt that the insight week has helped me to understand what it would be like to have a full time role as a Software Engineer in J.P. Morgan

Obviously as a firm they would do their best to present their "best" side during the insight week, so what I experienced may not be an accurate representative of what their culture is like. But speaking to employees it seems that the office has a very positive culture, where everyone is supportive and there are opportunities to move around.

The insight week has increased my interest in financial technology, and has helped me to decide that I want to work in the financial services industry. Through the event, I had a real appreciation of the role that financial services has to play in our global economy, and I would like to be a part of that.

My travel expenses and accommodation expenses (including food) were all paid for by the company. Interns not from Glasgow were housed at the same hotel, which was very decent and a mere 5 minutes walk away from the office. It also had the added effect of allowing interns to hang out after work together.

There were always networking opportunities every day, and we are always encouraged to speak to employees to find out more about what they do! Employees are very open and are more than happy to speak about their experiences to you.

The first night was amazing, we went bowling together and it was free flow food + drinks! The other two evenings were more toned down, held in the office with pizza and some drinks. Both times there were plenty of opportunities to mingle around. As interns we went out together outside the "official" opportunities as well.

Throughout the event we were presented with the kind of activities that employees do outside of work, mainly voluntary work, which I thought was pretty standard across all firms.

I would definitely recommend this insight to a friend! It was such a fun experience and I can't recommend the programme enough. Everyone is friendly and smart, and the culture was really positive. If you like problem solving, and want your work to have meaningful impact, then J.P. Morgan is the place to go.