Managed Services Engineer Review

The work was diverse, and fulfilling. The team I was part of was really fun to be a part of, both in the office and out at team events. I was able to travel to many different offices across thr world and see places I wouldn't have considered before, all paid for me.

My team mates appreciated the work I did, and would often come to me with problems they were having which fell under my area. They knew I had a slightly different skill set than them and used that to their advantage rather than alienate me. I was invited out to all the team events and was treated as an equal rather than a subordinate.

There were multiple managers which I was able to contact if I had an issue, and I was part of multiple regular calls to keep track of my progress. My line manager attempted to set up a bi-weekly one to one to check up and give advice, however due to his busy schedule, this was not always possible. However he was very approachable at other times, and responsive to e-mail and slack if I needed him.

I always had a to do list and some projects had deadlines, but were relaxed and could be pushed back. I was able to jump around on multiple projects most of the time which helped give some variety to the work. I was part of some escalations which could be stressful as they impacted the other work I was doing, but was a good experience to be a part of.

I was left to my own devices for certain projects, and given the freedom to design and implement my own solutions to the problems. However, sometimes this was a double edged sword as requirements were not set out as clearly and could change suddenly. Some other projects were driven by others though and I was just there to follow their instructions and advise where I could.

I have been given the chance to work with enterprise level software that I would never have been given the chance to work with before I graduated otherwise. I was able to use the knowledge I had learned at university so far to practice, and push other areas of knowledge that I have taught myself before, giving me a reason to go further. I was given a cut down version of the training the rest of my team were given during their induction. They also provided online education services for free to learn unrelated skills in my free time.

The office is open plan, and very relaxed. The break out area is airy and a nice place to relax, eat and talk freely. There are plenty of other facilities around the office, such as game consoles which helped keep it a relaxed environment. Dress code was also fairly relaxed.

Human resources were prompt with the contract and any information that I required. As this was the first time this internship was run in Europe, the exact job requirements were not particuarly well thought out. However, that meant the job could be shaped around me and my strengths. After about half way, I was able to be given some extra tasks and responsibilities that were not initially advertised but were appreciated.

I was put on 2 training courses run by the company that external people would have paid for. I was also given free access to other online paid resources to learn unrelated skills. Everyone on my team was willing to drop what they were doing to help with an issue and I was given the chance to shadow someone for a few months.

Very appealing. I would very much like to come back to the company once I have graduated. They are offering a letter of commondation so that I can come back in a years time. Once you are in the company, a lot of people are given a chance to move internally too so there are a lot of long standing employees.

There are other interns in other teams but I wasn't able to associate with them so much as my team was so friendly and inviting. Just as I am leaving, there appears to be a new effort to allow interns to communicate to each other, but too little too late.

The area is a fairly well of area, and I bought lunch here most days which was quite expensive. However, it was close to home so I did not have to worry about living costs as much. Travel was a bit of an issue as I had to drive, and there were lots of roadworks, adding to the time cost.

I did not go out too much at night, as there does not seem to be too much to do. I'm not aware of any clubs. There are restaurants and bars but they are expensive, and as I was driving, I could not drink or stay out too late here.

The company has lots of different networks promoting diversity and different hobbies which I could be involved in. Additionally as a team we sometimes played badminton at the local sports center which could be paid by the company. There was also charity and fundraising, as well as other events such as getting more women into technology and teaching children.