Since the beginning we had a really nice product to work on with an extremely supportive and friendly team. The product is actually used by the business and we managed to help reduce a great number of expenses and resources previously required. I got a brilliant insight into the industry and worked with the latest technologies. I am a lot more confident going forwards based on the work I did.
What I wish was different
Everything was brilliant. The only thing that could have improved the experience would have been more time (a longer internship) so that we could have continued to improve the product or even work on different areas of the business.
Advice
Be as curious as you can, asking many questions. Do not be afraid to challenge those senior and always give your input.
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One person found this helpful
Business Technology Intern
June - August 2023 • Farnborough, England
What I liked
A strong sense of community permeates the company as almost everyone has some technical background, you won't feel isolated in your technical role. Everyone is ready to help you and make you comfortable no matter your background.
Did meaningful work that brought business value. The HR team put in a lot of effort to find the best fitting team and project based on my background. My manager was very helpful at answering my questions about building a career at Discover. We also received Agile training in our second week which was a great refresher for me.
The volunteer events were great! We had a cruise on Thames and volunteered on the Basingstoke canal trimming trees and cleaning graffities off bridges. Wished there were more of them, especially ones including interns from the US branch.
What I wish was different
Tech setup in the first weeks needs improving. Had my laptop replaced early and the replacement had issues too. Nothing that really stopped me from working but the whole experience could be improved by setting up and testing the basic functionalities of the machines beforehand.
Advice
Take advantage of the community willing to help you through out you internship!
Start networking with people outside your team mid internship.
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Business Technology Intern
June - August 2023 • Farnborough, England
What I liked
Having the opportunity to be embedded within an existing dev team and work on actual projects directly related to the current goals of the team is an experience impossible to gain in university alone. Especially when the team is so welcoming and supportive that by the end you feel like another member of the team. It really gives you an appreciation and understanding for software engineering principles which are taught in a theoretical/surface level way in university, e.g., Agile, CD, testing.
What I wish was different
Overall, very little. Being a US company, some aspects of the program and communications were written from a US centric point of view without being updated for the UK intern cohort.
Advice
Make the most of the opportunity to connect with people outside of your team. Everyone, including people you don't directly work with, is open to have conversations to provide insights into other areas of the business. For example, it may be possible to learn about dev-ops, architecture, front-end, etc, even if that's not your main project.
