How Bloomberg engineering internships set students up for full-time success

Atharv Sardesai

Software engineer, Pune, India

What made you decide to work here full time after your internship?

I really enjoyed my internship experience because I was able to do impactful work while also having fun in the process. My assigned projects were interesting and I felt that the team really took my ideas into account. The overall support and encouragement that I received from everyone cemented my decision to join Bloomberg full-time. 

What do you think sets Bloomberg apart as a company? What keeps you here?

The transparency and innovation at Bloomberg are the two biggest things I’ve noticed. At Bloomberg, you’re given ownership over your projects and are provided with the tools needed to design high impact solutions. When you have new ideas, you feel empowered to make them happen. The atmosphere makes me feel more creative and helps me operate at my best.

What would you recommend about a career at Bloomberg to a future intern?

The level of guidance, support, tools, and attention you’re given is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Bloomberg’s company culture and internal processes facilitate open communication among teams. I feel comfortable discussing my professional goals with my managers and feel that the company prioritizes its employees’ best interests. 

How have your technical skills developed during your time at Bloomberg?

My technical skills have developed and evolved a lot. Every day, I feel like I’m learning something new. The technology at Bloomberg is so vast that there’s no way one can learn everything immediately. What I’ve found helpful is learning about the requirements and then deciding which technical skills are required to achieve the goal. This ensures I learn things as I go and can then utilize those skills in the future.

Miriam Adriana Costan

Software engineer, London

When were you a Bloomberg intern? What made you decide to intern at the company? How would you define your experience?

I interned at Bloomberg three times – in the summers of 2017, 2018, and 2019. I didn’t know much about Bloomberg before applying for an internship, but I applied because I knew a couple of Bloomberg employees who seemed to be really excited about their roles and experience. After I did some research of my own, it seemed like the perfect place to start my career. 

What made you decide to work here full-time after your internship?

Definitely the people. Not only are my colleagues some of the smartest people I know, but also everyone I’ve interacted with during my internships was amazing. Everyone was friendly and engaging and they were happy to spend time with me and answer my questions.

What kind of support and opportunities have you received since working at Bloomberg full time?

I’ve gotten a lot of support from Bloomberg, from training on technology, finance, and communications to mentorship – and even help with my relocation to London. I was extremely happy to attend my first Grace Hopper Conference as part of the Bloomberg team.

One of my favorite things about Bloomberg is its D&I Communities. I am part of all of the Communities at Bloomberg, but am mostly active in the LGBT and Ally Community (BPROUD)  and the Women’s Community. The amount of support you get from your colleagues in these groups is immeasurable. It’s one of the main reasons I feel comfortable bringing my full self to work every day.

What are some of the interesting technical challenges you are facing? What problems are you trying to solve?

We are facing new technological puzzles every day. Some of the biggest financial players in the market depend on the solutions my team builds. So when a new technology arises that can improve our product and we want to update our code, we must be careful to ensure that we do not break any of our workflows. We focus on making incremental changes rather than disruptive ones and also test exhaustively to catch any bugs before they might reach our clients.

Yong Li

Software engineer, New York

When were you a Bloomberg intern? What made you decide to intern at the company? How would you define your experience?

I interned at Bloomberg during the summer of 2021. Although a finance background isn’t required to be a software engineer here, I was interested in the opportunity to work at the intersection of both technology and finance. I had also talked to other former interns and heard that they’d had great experiences, so it was an easy choice for me. I was very supported by everyone around me, from my mentors to my recruiter. I learned a new programming language (C++) and whenever I ran into a roadblock, I was able to message other engineers within the company for help and guidance. All in all, everyone was extremely helpful and open.

What kind of support and opportunities have you received since working at Bloomberg full time?

What really sets Bloomberg apart is the support the company provides. I had two mentors during my internship. I could reach out to them whenever I had questions, regardless of whether they were work related or not. As a full-time employee, I have three mentors (one on my team, one for training, and another who is a senior engineer). 

It was helpful having that guidance both within and outside of work. Right now, I’m especially excited about the opportunity for growth. I want to continue developing my technical skills. Beyond that, my manager has supported me and helped me grow in terms of communication and gaining perspective. He has pushed me to grow, which is something I really appreciate.

Can you tell us about your intern project? How were you matched to your team and projects?

As an intern, I was matched to my engineering team by my recruiter based on my personal preferences. I wanted a team which had significant exposure both within and outside of Bloomberg, so I was able to make that clear in my preference sheet. I think HR did a great job matching me to the perfect team. There are other aspects that you can also prioritize, such as the frameworks you want to work with or what languages you want to learn, and you will be matched accordingly.

I was really proud of my intern project. It was originally supposed to be a simple script to collect metrics from different sources and aggregate them into a single source. I was able to finish the project in about 1-2 weeks and was looking for a bigger challenge. I was then assigned to a much larger project that involved developing a feature which engineers have been requesting for years: making real-time data available on our development servers.

I faced many challenges but felt comfortable reaching out for support. The amount of help I received was incredible, and I was able to contribute to a full-fledged service that is still running more than a year later.

What are some of the interesting technical challenges you are facing? What problems are you trying to solve?

I’m faced with the challenge of selecting among several different tools and frameworks. Using each tool effectively requires you to evaluate and consider all of the pros and cons.  Then, you must determine the exact requirements of each product you are trying to build. This often means that you have to take time to research and understand the bigger picture before you can write any code. This involves far more than just writing some code.

How have your technical skills developed during your time at Bloomberg?

During my time at Bloomberg, I’ve realized that every problem has multiple solutions and that no solution is perfect. The key is to evaluate and consider both the short-term and long-term impacts of each solution and how it fits into the larger picture. I’m now stronger technically because I challenge myself to think through simpler, more elegant solutions instead of ones that are more complex and add technical debt that may be difficult to build upon later.