Data Security Technical Support Review

I enjoyed working for a very large company and my placement was useful for improving my technical skills, however my day-to-day activities could get quite boring and repetitive. I liked working in an office, however would have prefered more opportunities to move around and perhaps see other offices.

My colleagues were immediately very friendly and helpful. They were extremely respectful at all times, and did not dismiss my ideas, despite being young and still getting familiar with the role. I received support whenever I was struggling with an issue or customer, and colleagues were always happy to answer questions.

My task manager was always available if I required support or had any issues. We had a monthly one-to-one to discuss my progress, and guide me on how to get the most out of my placement.

My role was heavily dependent on customers. Therefore there would be periods when I'm bored waiting on customer responses, but also times when I am trying to communicate with many customers at once. However as I got more experienced I was able to manage this better, use free time productively, and learn which tasks to prioritise at busy times.

I was treated as any other full-time member of the team with the amount of responsibility I had. At the start I, while still undergoing training, I received a relatively small number of tasks. However, once capable, I was receiving the same volume of work as other team members.

In my role, I gained many skills, in particular soft skills. There were also opportunities to improve my technical skills. However IBM provides a huge amount of online training that is available to all IBM employees. This allowed me to develop skills that will aid me for my studies.

I was in one of the quieter IBM offices, located in Bedfont, Feltham. While the area with my team was often more engaging, the rest of the office was relatively uneventful. There were almost no events at this location and I feel like priority was given to larger offices e.g., Southbank/Hursley.

The placement was very well structured with regular reviews and several presentation to monitor progress.

The company paid for training and a qualification that I can now put on my CV. They were willing to provide/fund training if it was beneficial to your core duties.

They offer many roles that appeal to me and are very relevant to my degree.

In my office, there were only 2 other placement students. While they were pleasent, there was not much of a social scene around my office.

The area was located on the outskirts of London, near Heathrow. Although, being in London, this meant that rent was relatively expensive (albeit cheaper than a more central location).

The area around my location had a non-existant nightlife, as it was mainly industrial, and housing.