Amazon Discover: Spring Insight Participant Review

On day 1 we got an insight into the day in the life of a software engineer which I found really insightful and interesting. It was great to hear what its' really like from a panel of such experienced professionals. We then undertook technical exercises with our mentors. The next day we had more technical workshops and got an overview of the application process along with a development of some soft skills. On day 3 we had more technical exercises where we built a combat game in pairs and put our learnings to use and I think day 3 was my favourite.

I've definitely learnt more about using Java as a practical application and how coding is really used in the workplace. It was interesting to see the skills we learnt being used in teams and how they would be used in the workplace. I've definitely learnt more about the skills needed to work in Amazon and a career in software engineering in general. I think in terms of new skills I learnt was how you would go about developing code as part of a team or a group which was something I hadn't done before and really enjoyed talking about different potential methods we could implement.

It was really insightful to hear about the different roles and how they function within the organisation. I never realised there were so many different products and roles needed for each product which I found interesting as its clear you could work in a huge variety of business divisions. I found learning about the leadership principles interesting and how they're used to develop products and the code behind them, its clear they're heavily ingrained in the mindset of everyone working in the Amazon

I found the culture really welcoming and supportive all throughout the programme. From day 1 the speakers were so open about their experiences and what working life is like in Amazon. Our mentor was so patient and helpful with us and it was really clear she genuinely cared about us having an enjoyable and useful time in the programme. The atmosphere remained welcoming and supportive all throughout and no question was too stupid to asl which I found comforting as there were many new concepts that we explored during the programme.

I found the insight programme really enjoyable and it was nice to meet other students who were also interested in the industry. It was unfortunate that the event was online as it would've been nice to meet everyone in person and see the office but nonetheless the event worked really well online and I really enjoyed the 3 days. It was nice to work in small groups and the same group for the full 3 days as it meant you got to know the people in your group and got more comfortable sharing ideas and teasing out problems with them.

Yes

I think it was a really worthwhile experience and if anyone has any interest in software engineering or even if they don't, its definitely worthwhile. I was on the fence about whether software engineering would be for me as I wasn't sure what it would entail but the programme gave me a really thorough overview of what my job would look like if I went down that road. Alternatively, I feel that it would definitely help someone realise if this was not for them especially with the technical workshops that simulate something similar to work you could be doing.