Technology Intern - Business Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my placement with JP Morgan Technology. The atmosphere within the Glasgow technology office is very friendly and welcoming, and the work I was given was very interesting and rewarding.

My team were all very friendly and made an effort to make me feel welcome in the team and the wider department. They made sure to make time to help me when I had questions and provided me with constructive feedback on the work that I was producing.

The team that I worked in was very supportive and always made a lot of time fro me to ask questions and get to know about my role and the company, and my manager had regular catch ups with me to discuss my progress. The program is set up so that all interns are provided with a buddy and a senior advisor who is normally an ED who you meet with several times to get career advice and guidance from.

I was provided with my own project and a very loose brief on what they wanted me to produce, therefore it was up to me how much work and effort I put into it, and how busy my days were. Some days were full of meetings I had arranged with other teams for information and other days were full of researching.

As I was working on my own project I was given the responsibility to create my own project plan, set up meetings with other relevant teams, document meetings and manage my own time effectively. I had weekly catch ups with my manager to ensure I was on track and see if I needed help anywhere, otherwise the work was completely my own to manage.

I study both business and computer science and I feel that having being exposed to both the business of the Investment Bank and Technology side of the business has been very beneficial for me. I also think that working in the professional environment has prepared me for my future career.

There is a very friendly and sociable atmosphere in the Glasgow office. On every floor there are "break out" areas where people can go and grab a coffee and have a more informal meeting. During my internship I reached out to several people to gather information about the company and career prospects, and everyone was really approachable and took time to speak to me.

There were several events organized by HR to get all the interns together for networking that were beneficial and fun. There was also the Senior Speaker series when all interns had the opportunity to ask questions from very senior people in the organization.

As an intern you have access to the company's online training course library. Some courses are mandatory but you also have the opportunity to search for relevant topics or courses that you were interested in learning more about. The majority of training is done with your team in your day to day role.

There is a clear hierarchical structure of management in place with a transparent process of how to progress. There is a standardized yearly review process between you and your manager to get feedback and discuss any progressions that you may to go for.

For an intern class of 65 I was quite disappointed with how little of an effort was made for socializing. A lot of the interns were from local universities so stuck to their own social scene. After the first few weeks of attempted parties, this stopped.

Glasgow is a relatively cheap city to live in, however if you want to live in the city centre rent is quite steep. Cost of socializing is decent, especially on "student" nights during the week.

Nightlife in Glasgow is really good! Something for everyone!

There were a few committees set up on the site, mostly involving sport, however the majority of them did not have events organized over the summer period due to people being on holidays. This was bad timing for the interns.