Software Engineer Intern Review

I found the internship at Redgate very enjoyable, the work that I did was interesting and the company was an exciting place to work. Redgate do a lot to ensure their employees (or redgaters) are happy in the workplace, and so there are a number of perks (free breakfast & lunch, flexi-time, and much more), and there are a number of feel good fund events during the internship.

I was able to work as part of the team from day one, and started contributing to the project immediately. I was treated as any other developer which was really good as it gave me a valuable insight into the world of software development. My colleagues were always available to help whenever I needed it.

My line manager was always on hand to help me if I got stuck on a problem. He was also able to give me lots of advice and guidance on how to approach problems which is useful for both the work I did at Redgate during my internship, and my future career.

On a daily basis I was fairly busy, and when I had tasks assigned I was able to get on with them and keep myself busy. I did sometimes struggle to find tasks that were achievable in a suitable time due to their complexity. I also spent a lot of time idle waiting for code reviews.

During my internship I was given the responsibility of any other developer, I was able to pick my own work, create issues for discussing, and contribute in meetings. During planning meetings I was able to have my say as much as all the other developers on my team. I was also given the responsibility of looking after 2 Early Access Program customers, which involved handling calls, logging issues, and providing support.

For my degree a lot of the skills are perhaps not relevant because of the difference in scale of the projects between university and the real world. However I feel that the skills I learnt will be very useful for my future career, including team working, source control, customer interaction, and business skills.

In general the atmosphere was very good at redgate, the environment is very relaxed and there is a lot of trust put in the employees to manage their own time and work life. Nobody keeps track of the hours you work as the trust is there that you will work the correct amount. There are lots of social activities during the day that are encouraged by management, so it's not uncommon to see your manager playing video games at 3PM.

The setup was very good, Redgate have been doing internships for several years now and so they have developed the program to be good. There is a good support network for interns if they are struggling. Further they organise a lot of events for interns, including the company summer day out, welcome/leaving drinks, and a generous budget to spend on what the interns want (we went to Escape Rooms).

My manager spent a lot of time working with me to develop my skills for software development. Other members of my team were equally helpful in teaching me new skills. I was also very fortunate to be able to attend a 3 day course in Information Security course at a significant expense to the company.

Redgate are a growing business and so there are lots of positions available all year round. They offer a competitive salary with a large number of benefits including private healthcare, christmas bonuses, sabbatical leave, and much more. I was very fortune to be given an offer for a job after I finish my degree next summer.

We had a good social scene among the interns, we had expensed visits to the local pub during the internships, a number of company wide social opportunities including a summer day out. The interns got on very well together, and the turn out to social events was generally 80% of the interns coming.

I commuted so the cost was minimal, although the A14 is very congested due to the never ending roadworks. Living in Cambridge is expensive compared with most places, although the job prospects are proportional to the living costs. Socialising costs are acceptable, there are lots of cheap restruants and the pubs aren't too expensive (A pint of beer is £3-4 in a independent pub).

The nightlife in Cambridge is mostly made up of lots of pubs, there are a few clubs but not that many, so it depends on what you want. There is something for everyone in reality. The only problem I found with the nightlife is that the cost of transport to get home again is very high if you do not live in the immediate area.

We had a company organised summer event for the whole company with free food, drinks, games, and a band. Every Thursday night there is a collection of Redgaters at the local pub, with organised visits on the first/last weeks. We were also given a generous budget as interns to spend on a day out (we did escape rooms and a meal).