The best part of my internship experience has been the people

Jemima Khoo joined Accenture for a six-month internship in June 2021, before transitioning to our graduate program in January 2022. Find out more about her story.

My road to software engineering has been slightly unconventional. Out of high school, I started a Bachelor of Design (Architecture), graduating in 2018. I chose this degree because I liked the idea of engineering, but was intimidated by the mathematics and physics required. After I graduated, I took a year off and in that time reflected on what I really wanted to do, realizing that it was fear, rather than ability that was stopping me from pursuing a STEM career.

This led me to enrolling in my second degree, a Bachelor of Science in IT, starting in 2020. As part of this degree, a six-month internship is required. I learnt about Accenture at a uni event, where there was a panel which included people from myWizard AiOps, which I am now a part of. I got talking to them and learnt that Accenture offered internships, so they took down my name and contact details. After going through the application and interview process, I started my internship in June 2021 on the CloudChaser project within the myBuddy team in myWizard AiOps.

A rapid programming learning curve
I came into the team with some programming experience from uni, but it wasn’t a core strength. I was thrown into the CloudChaser development team, where I got to use React, JavaScript and Python to develop one of the main dashboards in the app, as part of a UI/UX redesign. My programming skills had to rapidly develop, but it was a great learning experience. I’m so glad that I ended up where I am, and everything that I have learnt at work has really benefited me in my University courses as well.

I took advantage of every opportunity I was given, taking on responsibility, and am now a core developer in the team. I’ve now got experience in JavaScript and Python, and recently I’ve been given the chance to move more into client delivery, developing new skills in data analytics and automation.

The entire internship experience was wonderful. I’ve had great managers, including Isabella Moore, the product owner of CloudChaser. I’ve had regular feedback from Isabella, including monthly check-in sessions. As I became more established in the team, I’ve even had the chance to onboard people and mentor new joiners.

From internship to employee
As it got towards the end of my internship, one of my managers asked me whether I wanted to stay on, and having had such a good experience, I happily agreed.  Of course, I still had to go through some HR processes, but after I completed an expression of interest form to join the graduate program, we agreed a new start date and that was it. I officially finished my internship on 13 December 2021, with the new joiner program starting on 18 January 2022, but I continued work in-between, having the chance to do things like mentor at an Accenture Tech bootcamp, which was a great experience.

The transition from intern to full-time employee has been very smooth. I’ve stayed in the same team, working on the same project.

The best thing about my Accenture experience is the people
From my very first interaction with Accenture at that university panel discussion, the best part of my experience has been the people. Everyone has been so friendly and supportive.

With my team spread across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Philippines, I’ve loved taking advantage of digital platforms to do things virtual pair programming, giving and receiving instant feedback on work. As well as working in the Sydney office, I have also spent a week in Melbourne meeting colleagues.

We’ve got a strong social culture, which I think really helps. When you get to know people and hear their stories of past failures, it makes you feel less nervous about asking for help. We also have Wellness Wednesday during Wednesday standup, and have done group activities like Steptember.

Advice for potential interns
I’d really encourage people from all sorts of backgrounds to consider applying for the Accenture internship program. You don’t have to have a deep tech knowledge – most of the people in my team don’t have what you’d call a standard tech background!  My manager has a degree in German and Mathematics, we’ve got lawyers and mechatronic engineers, all now thriving in a software development and delivery environment. If you’ve got the interest, I’d say jump in and give it a go, as there’s a lot of space to learn and develop skills.

I also strongly encourage women to apply. I know there’s a perception of tech being male dominated, but the majority of my team are women, and I’ve never had any issues with the stereotypical idea of the men dominating the workplace. As I’m still completing my second degree, I’m currently the events director for the programming society at UTS and feel really strongly about the incredible opportunities for women in STEM careers. So, think about applying and seeing how you can thrive with us!