Cybersecurity Intern Review

I really enjoyed it. Everyone in the department I was in was very friendly and always willing to take the time to chat to me and show me what they do. I learnt a huge amount about cybersecurity and it has gone from something I knew very little about to a real consideration for my career. The company insisted on having the internship go ahead despite the pandemic, which was great. The only downside to working online was the limited socialising that can be done.

I definitely felt very valued by everyone I worked with. I was frequently checked up on to see if I had enough to fill my time and what my opinion was on projects being worked on. My contributions never felt ignored or neglected. I was the first intern that they had had in my department, and everyone I met was very enthusiastic about taking the time to talk to me and show me around what they do.

There was plenty of support given by everyone. The internship had to be online due to the pandemic, and so getting set up on their system virtually was tough, but there was always instant help by people if any of the interns had any trouble. For the work itself, my manager and colleagues were very supportive, and helped me understand more about cybersecurity when I knew very little to begin with, without me getting confused.

I was treated like a new employee in the department, and so was present in many of the meetings that happened each day, which meant I learnt a lot not only about the work but also the corporate world. I would also be busy looking into the cybersecurity tools with my manager every day, and worked with other interns on multiple presentations we gave to show what we had learnt about the business. I was very busy without getting overworked.

Due to the nature of the work in cyberseucrity, I was not able to have too much individual responsibility as it could have been a security risk. For the most part, it was a shadowing / learning experience, especially as it had to be online. I had the personal responsibility of creating and arranging several meetings for myself and my manager throughout the internship. I also worked on multiple individual and group exercises and presentations.

I learnt a huge amount about the extent of cybersecurity and the many different tools and processes that are used. In the 5 short weeks I was there, I have gone from knowing almost nothing about the work to understanding most areas of the department well. Everyone was very willing to take the time to teach me the skills and knowledge needed for the work. Although the skills aren't directly needed for my degree (physics) they are certainly related, especially regarding the computing side of my studies.

It was always very relaxed, and I never felt uncomfortable. It felt easy to reach out to and/ or chat to members of my team, despite having to do it all virtually. There were also several social events (pub quiz, virtual escape room, etc.) organised for the interns, which helped with the relaxed atmosphere of the (virtual) office. My only problem is that there maybe wasn't enough of these socials over the course of the internship.

All things considered, they did a fantastic job - I was amazed when I heard the internship was going ahead at all. Originally, the internship was meant to be at the office, so to go from that to one hundred percent online is impressive. Obviously with that comes issues with IT and getting set up on their network from a personal computer, but these issues were generally sorted by the end of the first week.

As the first intern in their department, they did a great job of teaching me everything that goes on there and how all the different aspects of cybersecurity operate. I was even provided with courses on LinkedIn Learning before I joined, so that I would be more prepared when I started. On the whole, the company really gave the impression that they valued the interns - people from all over the company (even very high up) would give presentations to us most mornings and answer any of our questions.

Very appealing, everyone that I worked with seemed keen on the idea of me returning as a graduate in the future, and I've gone from not really considering cybersecurity as a career to it being a top consideration now. A lot of the areas of the department were new and / or growing, so I got the impression that it wasn't going anywhere any time soon. The nature of the work they do means they have to be on top of any new technologies and threats, which is exciting for a future career.

Unfortunately, as it was a virtual internship (blame covid 19) it wasn't as easy to socialise as it might have ordinarily been. It's not really possible to chat to the person next to you in or before/after a meeting when there's 20 of you in a video call. There were however events organised like a virtual pub quiz, virtual escape room, drinks, etc. that allowed us to chat and have fun together. The only issue I have is that there weren't enough of these to really get to know people.

One of the great benefits was that despite moving the internship online the pay remained the same. I was able to do the full internship from my bedroom at my parents house, and not have to find anywhere to rent. This might not be the case for the future though. Ordinarily, I would have been placed in Sterling in Scotland, which as far as I'm aware isn't too expensive of a place to live in, but doesn't really have much of a nightlife.

There's a pandemic, so no nightlife. Not their fault

During the 5 weeks I was there, there were a few social events arranged for the interns, as I mentioned before. There was a virtual pub quiz, virtual escape room, and leaving drinks at the end. They were all very enjoyable and I only wish there were more. I would recommend in the future having more small group things, as in video calls with large groups it's much harder to socialise with individuals and get to know the other interns.