An honest review of my JP Morgan SWE internship
ad-hoc advice and musings
Sep 29, 2024
Summary
Overall the experience was invaluable to me, and I would stress that it is definitely worth applying for. For a higher chance of your application moving forward, apply for their Spring Weeks and Code For Good Hackathons. In some ways, these function as mini assessment centers.
To qualify for the hackathon, you have to apply for both the internship and the hackathon as two separate applications.
Application Process
Around September 2023, I applied to both the SWE internship and the Code For Good (CFG) hackathon. I completed the HackerRank assessment and received an invitation for the October 2023 CFG hackathon in London.
In CFG, participants create a solution for a charity, presenting their work to judges at the end of 24 hours. I worked in a team with four other girls whom I had not met before. My team developed a technological solution for Make-A-WishÂź UK using React.js, Flask, and SQLite to connect their volunteers with community leads and wishes. Thankfully, the all-nighter paid off, as we ended up winning the hackathon! After a month or two, I received a call from a recruiter who said they were impressed by my performance in the hackathon and offered me a summer internship.
IMPORTANT: Winning is certainly not the defining criterion for being offered a summer internship. Many other interns from the hackathon also received offers. As cliché as it sounds, just be yourself, ask questions, and show that you can collaborate!
I would definitely recommend CFG. You become more informed about the issues charities face, learn new technologies and skills, meet a bunch of lovely and supportive people, and have fun getting to know your team. There are JP Morgan employees who volunteer to provide technical support and encouragement throughout the event. Of course, food is provided too! They also offered an informal CV review with someone from HR.
Quite a few interns I met had participated in Spring Week the year before, so I highly suggest applying for that as well.
Intern Experience
The company is divided into four lines of business: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Commercial Banking, and Asset & Wealth Management. I was placed within CIB, but SWE roles span across all LOBs.
Your internship experience can depend on the LOB you are placed in, your manager, and your project. Not all managers are engineering managers. Employees volunteer to be a intern manager. Some interns do not have one defined project; instead, they complete mini projects or help their team with several tickets. One intern had a manager who was barely present as they were too busy and never gave them a defined project to complete. However, they had an allocated buddy who was able to support them, along with the rest of the team. They made the most of their experience by being proactive and connecting with other teams, employees, and interns. From those other teams, they collected tickets that allowed them to learn a lot and gain more insights into a larger range of teams within the company. Keep in mind that this kind of experience is not specific to JP Morgan; in most large companies, different teams will always have their own unique dynamics and ways of working. Similarly, different LOBs have different working cultures. This variance is one reason why people tend to stay at JP Morgan for years; they can experience a wide selection of roles and working environments within just one company.
The size of the company itself is an advantage. It means there is always work to do, always something to learn. The tricky part is finding it first. JP Morgan also subsidises a range of certifications and courses. Because of this, I was able to obtain the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification for free :D Minus the time I spent studying for the examâŠ
My personal experience was very positive in terms of the team and the definition of my project. I had another intern on my team who had a different manager. Initially, we were meant to work separately, but our project definitions overlapped, so we ended up working together for the entire summer. The project was to migrate a legacy application to a live ticking dashboard. Our greatest challenge was having to find and manipulate the data needed for the dashboard. At the end of the internship, we presented our completed project to the rest of the CIB (the tech side).
We ate lunch with the team almost every day and maintained high levels of communication with each other. Together, we built a family that encouraged growth, learning, and early lunches!
I never felt overworked or had to stay late, except for a couple of reasons:
Meetings with a team member based in Chicago had to be held later in the day, so they sometimes overran if we needed to resolve technical problems together. I was impressed at our ability to communicate, despite time zones.
The final few days leading up to the presentation, but that was my own decision to stay later.
The dress code was business casual. Everyone wore suits on the first day, so I was relieved I had found a suit in a charity shop the day before. Some areas of tech may be less formal, but once you meet your team properly, you can match their level of formality.
At the beginning, I struggled with minor imposter syndrome, though this faded the more I settled in. My manager allowed me to feel comfortable enough to raise this in a 1:1. Soon I realised that, regardless of how I felt, I was already there, so I might as well make the most of the opportunity. And so, I did!
One coffee chat at a time, the summer went by. Coffee chats are one of the best ways to learn about other teams, roles, LOBs, and connect with new people. Arrange as many as you want with whoever you want. Thereâs no harm in reaching outâyou may be surprised at who replies! Even the busiest managing directors would make time to speak, which really surprised me. Everyone I met was willing to help, and if they couldnât, theyâd find someone who could.
Throughout the internship, there were various planned events for interns, including socials, speaker events (my personal favorites were Lori Beer and Jamie Dimon), and Corporate Social Responsibility Day (for us, this involved volunteering to clear invasive vegetation in a park).
There was a scavanger hunt event where you formed teams of 4 and raced around the office and nearby areas, taking photos based on a series of prompts. On a whim I formed a team with some other interns and we actually got second place. So, that thing youâve been contemplating? Might as well give it a shot as you never know what might happen!
In terms of progression, there is the traditional managerial route, but also JP Morgan are trying to grow the potential for Individual Contributors to progress. You start off as an Analyst, then go onto Associate, and climb up.
JP Morgan also has many Business Resource Groups (BRGs), such as Women on the Move, who host their own events. If you want to learn more about these click here. Scroll down to the heading âFostering an inclusive networkâ where they have a list of which groups they have.
How has this internship impacted me? I engaged in a great deal of self-introspection throughout the summer. Previously, I had been nervous about joining the 'corporate world,' but it really was not as terrifying as I imagined. The most significant difference I noticed was the absence of the persistant guilt about not working that I constantly felt at university. Some people (including myself) wrongly assume that most who work at banks are all money-hungry, obnoxious, finance bros. For me at least, that stereotype has been replaced by a perception of those who work at banks as knowledge-hungry, kind, and supportive people. I came to appreciate the beauty in everyoneâs unique preferences and goals, each at their own stage in life. This means it doesnât make sense to compare yourself to others - it simply isnât a fair comparison. It has also enabled me to discover what I enjoy and what I donât. Now, I have a better understanding of my career aspirations, including the types of projects I want to engage with, the kind of work environment I want to seek, and the skills I wish to develop. After completing the internship I feel motivated to work as hard as I can in my third year of university. I want to be a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge and as many experiences as possible!
I am truly grateful to everyone who was part of my summer, both within and outside of the internship. Their advice and support has helped in shaping the person I am today. If you are reading this, thank you ^-^