Software Engineer Review

As a software engineer I have to design, develop, maintain and test computer code. By using agile design practices, requirements were gathered and a design was created. The code is then developed and tested. Once the tests are completed, the software then has to be maintained for future use. Documentation should also be written at every stage. On a day to day basis, I could be in any one of these stages, coordinating with the rest of the team in daily stand up calls.

I have learnt many new skills such as working with new software (UiPath), learning how to work in an agile environment and using tools such as sprint planning boards, sprint review boards etc. I have developed existing communication skills as I would have to convey to the team my progress from the previous and what my plan was for this be day ahead. Furthermore, I also developed my team working skills, learning to listen to other peoples ideas in a constructive manner.

I was given a good amount of responsibility. I, along with another intern, was tasked with completing a project which was on the teams backlog. This meant that we had to go through the whole software development process from design to testing. It was a lot of responsibility as the team will rely on this software to complete day to day tasks once it is completed. We are solely responsible for the development, but are able to lean on more senior team members if required

I was given a lot of support and guidance through the internship. I would have weekly catch up calls with my line manager to discuss my progress and ask any questions which I had. If I had any queries in the mean time regarding the project I was given, then I was able to reach out to other members of the team and they were more than happy to give a helping hand. Furthermore, I was allocated a buddy who I had weekly catch ups with, who gave me guidance and was someone who I could ask questions to. Finally, NatWest Group provided weekly drop in sessions for interns to ask any questions regarding the internship etc.

The general atmosphere was relaxed and promoted staff wellbeing. As interns we were allocated around 4 hours a week to dedicated to personal development and wellbeing times. We were given access to a wide range of resources which we could learn from. Weekly talks were given on wellbeing and wider company information, such as how the bank is using AI to better its practices etc. Overall, the general company atmosphere was calm and encouraged employee wellbeing and a good place to work in

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at the NatWest Group. It enabled to me to learn new skills and develop existing ones. Furthermore, it allowed me to see what I could be doing in the future as well as what day to day life is like as a software engineer. It allowed me to meet new people as networking between interns was strongly promoted, through socials and an intern business project with interns throughout the business, not just in software engineering.

Yes

The advice I would give is don’t be shy to ask questions, for advice, or more generally to just reach out to someone who you’re interested in finding more about I.e. their job and what it entails. NatWest Group is a place were connections are important and promoted. Most people are more than happy to provide some of their time to talk to you, or put you on to someone better who can if they can’t.