Summer Intern Review

It was very enjoyable. Lots of opportunities to meet senior members of the organization which was very beneficial and made us feel very welcome. I had a variety of tasks in different areas that allowed me to increase my skills and work with many team members. Overall I would very much recommend this internship.

The other members of my immediate team made me feel very welcome. I was given tasks by different members and they were very patient with getting me up to speed with the processes. They were also very helpful in answering any questions I had outside of my immediate work. Other colleagues in the office were also very nice and keen to help where they could.

My manager was excellent. When I was given tasks they made sure that I understood what the end goal was but they let me get on with it by myself and weren't breathing down my neck. I was given realistic deadlines and my manager searched to give me tasks that I would enjoy and increase my skills.

It varied week on week. Some weeks I was very busy all the time with different projects but other weeks I was less so. I was always able to manage my schedule so I wasn't having to work too late. However I feel that I was quite lucky and that other interns were given too much work.

I was given a fair amount. My manager was on holiday for two weeks so I took on some of the tasks he usually performed which was good. I was making real changes to the tools that my team use day in day out so it is nice to see the end result.

I'm not sure in the immediate future as the programming language I was using is different to the ones I will use next year. But it's still good to have more languages in your arsenal. I think that the experience of working in an office environment and understanding business processes will be really useful in the future though.

It was a great atmosphere in the office. People were very happy to give up their time to help. Also there were a large group of us that ate together everyday which was really good to get to know people on a more casual basis. People of all levels in the company are all very friendly.

There were a few issues to start with, setting up phones, computers etc. But after that I got going with work very quickly. The only real major issue is that I wasn't told which office I was working in until 1 week before the start. This was really annoying as I ended up 1 and a quarter hours away from where I was living rather than half an hour.

There was a lot of online training which is necessary but takes quite a while. I was given lots of opportunities to go to events outside of a normal working capacity which were useful for skills development. Also the work I was doing for the company was targeted on personal and professional development which was useful.

It seems to be that if you are good and want to continue afterwards the opportunities to get onto the grad scheme are good.

There was a great social scene. There were both company organized and colleague organized events whilst I was here. It was great to get to know everyone on a more personal level. Makes working together a lot easier and a lot more fun. It all helped build friendships and relationships which will be good to have for the future.

Cost of living is high because it is London so that is a bit of a hit. The shops around the actual office are very varied, some are expensive some are cheaper so it is totally up to you how much you spend. Obviously evening socializing is more expensive but quite often there are company events which is good.

In the actual area near my office it is pretty good. Lots of bars and pubs so spoilt for choice. For clubbing you have to go a bit further afield which isn't an issue because transport is really good in London. Plenty of variety, if you didn't want to you wouldn't have to visit the same place twice!

There are lots of opportunities, yes. Organised by work there was a volunteering day, a running event and social events. Other than that it is pretty easy to find lots of stuff going on in London and if you manage your work properly you tend to have plenty of time to do things that take your mind off work.