I completed an internship at Softwire after my second year studying Engineering Science at Oxford. After attending a careers fair, I applied on a whim and having had almost no experience of programming, I was a little worried that the internship would be really hard! Thankfully, that wasn’t the case and, whilst the work was challenging, I learnt a lot and had fun too!
My first real experience of the company was in the phone interview which, like the later interview in the office itself, involved problem solving. Throughout the interview process, everyone was really nice and friendly and the experience was more one of fun logic problems than anything else.
The first two weeks of the internship were training which required learning some C# and completing a load of fun challenges. All the interns came from completely different backgrounds, but the training really helped in getting us to a level at which we could function well as a team.
After this, we began our project which involved setting up a website using a content management system called Umbraco. This came with a lot of challenges but I quickly learnt a variety of skills both from our tech lead and the other interns – it really did feel like a team effort and was tremendously satisfying to see the finished product coming together!
From the start, it was very clear that Softwire is unique in its approach to the work environment. From snacks and pub trips to picnics and film nights, there was always something exciting happening and I really liked being a part of the company. I had never considered programming as a career option, but my time at Softwire has taught me that it is something that could be really enjoyable. If you are interested in applying for an internship for 2018 click here.
Jenny Potter
