Intern in Dev Review

I think I have decided that an office job in programming is not for me, but that said, the experience was very positive and I gained a lot of useful skills. The environment was pleasant and friendly, and I really couldn't ask for a better placement from the company's point of view.

I was set work that was genuinely useful to the company and received positive and constructive feedback. My team was very welcoming and friendly, and I was very much involved

I was given good briefs on what I was to be working on, and both my mentor and my manager were always willing to answer questions.

I always had a lot to be getting on with, although the system in which we get code reviewed for markups before releasing meant that sometimes I was waiting to get the go-ahead to continue.

I was responsible for making improvements to the internal system and the development process which, while not affecting what clients would get too much, was still incredibly useful to the company.

Coding was a skill I already had, but I certainly had good practice at it here, and learned some nuances that I hadn't had before. And programming is always an excellent skill to have up your sleeve. I also gained some experience in presenting short talks on things I was doing, which helped my communication skills.

The atmosphere was positive and friendly. While it was generally fairly quiet in the office, there would still be banter from time to time and socialisation such as ordering in pizza on Fridays.

I am incredibly impressed by how smoothly the application process went. Metaswitch took me through the application process and offered me a placement before anyone else even got back to me. My manager had a plan for my work over the summer and was well-prepared to niclude me in the group.

I had (like all other employees, in fact), weekly status meetings and education seminars, and an assessed presentation which I was given useful feedback on.

I did seriously consider continuing working with Metaswitch, even though it wasn't my first choice in career path for reasons unrelated to the internship. I went for a second interview - I didn't get the job, so I'm not sure how much this applies, but the idea was always appealing!

For an office of that size, there was a relatively large number of interns. We ate lunch and went out for meals in Edinburgh together on a regular basis, and became quite good friends.

For what it was - living and socialising in Edinburgh over the course of the Fringe! - it was wasn't the cheapest but was certainly incredible value.

I'm a boring sod and don't do 'nightlife' so much! Still, the Fringe lent an incredible atmosphere to the city over the latter half of the placement, which I think counts.

Well, the Fringe was on! Some of the other interns I was with got involved in cricket and football as well.