Digital Analytics Intern Review

I have really enjoyed my placement, the start was a very steep learning curve, getting used to lots of new programmes and software but the work has been really interesting and helped me learn more about the field of digital analytics, especially in such a large company with a complex data environment

The interns are an integral part of the team - they really give you a lot of responsibility, which can be intimidating at first but it is actually really rewarding. You definitely feel like you are contributing to the overall performance of the team and that the work you do matters.

My team helped train me on all the various pieces of software and tools, with lots of guidance on how to navigate the complex data environment. Further into the placement once I was comfortable with the work I was doing, the level of supervision dropped and I was given more freedom to take pieces of analysis in the direction I wanted to, and given more flexibility with producing reports.

Outside of larger reporting projects, lots of my work were ad-hoc requests that could come in at any time, and not necessarily through my manager, so when lots of requests came through I was extremely busy. However the work load was never unmanageable and I knew I could turn to my team if I had too much on.

I was given high levels of responsibility during my placement - at the start the majority of my work went through my manager first, however this quickly stopped and it was up to me. I would present pieces of analysis I had done, communicate to key stakeholders, set up my own meetings with various departments and run training sessions on my own.

As I chose a placement that wasn't closely related to my degree (the placement was digital analytics and I'm a management student) the technical skills and training don't really apply to my degree, however I know they will be invaluable in future jobs. Other skills such as time management, presentation skills and communication will definitely help me for the remainder of my degree studies and career.

The office is quite fun, fully decorated with all Disney related things. There are also employee screenings shown at the office cinema for new releases which you could go and see during work. The office is big and open plan, and in my role I met a lot of different people from different teams.

Disney have over 200 placement students each year, so they are fully prepared for all the organisation that is involved. I had a two week handover with the placement student in my role who took me through basic admin as well as trained me for my role. There are quite a few welcome to Disney events and they set up a Facebook group for all the interns before you start, so you can find people to live with if you need.

My team spent a lot of time training me on the various tools I needed in my role, and always offered to go through other tools that I may not have needed, but were interested in. My manager also noted which areas I was most interested in, e.g. larger pieces of analysis, and ensured I had the opportunity to work on projects that developed my skills as an analyst

From what I could gather, they do not have a graduate scheme that hire back interns, however they do have a LinkedIn group for alumni interns where job opportunities are posted and where they encourage old interns to apply for the roles. One of the previous students in my role was brought back as a contractor for a summer.

This may depend on your department, but the interns in mine went out together quite frequently (especially at the start and in the summer) after work, taking advantage of the summer hours we had (finishing at 3pm on a Friday after working an extra half hour Mon-Thurs). Lots of Disney interns also live together as they used the Facebook group to find housemates.

Cost of living in London was high, but this was to be expected. As the office is in Hammersmith, there are areas north of Hammersmith that are cheaper to live and where the commute is still short.

Lots of places to go out, as it's London

There were a fair amount of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, they have a programme called VoluntEARS where Disney staff volunteer as a group for various charity projects. Some of the other opportunities were available, it was just finding out that they existed or were available to interns.