Wednesday, October 13th
--------------------
Although Tuesday morning we managed to wake up bright and early leaving us plenty of time to lounge before work, the novelty of that idea wore off about 24 hours later. For me, waking up at 7AM in order to leave Courtfield by 8AM is difficult when Facebook and YouTube videos (and often this blog!) keep me up until past midnight. Waking up when it’s still dark outside is something I don’t think I will ever get used to (but probably should). In any event, I wasn’t too pressed for time as I headed into the City for my second day of the real-world. I arrived at the office about 5 minutes earlier than my required 9:00AM start time, allowing myself time for an extra (much needed) cup of coffee.
Essentially, I am an intern in the Investment Banking Operations department, using software to complete user-accessibility testing within the Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage team; we monitor, test, and fix problems within the trading system platforms that the investment bankers use. My first task of the morning was to execute sixteen different trades in IRFE, one of our trading platforms. Just as I finished that task, Carlo (my Australian co-worker) got a call from a developer with a request to test a programming fix: my first real assignment, CFX1046 (each testing scenario has its own name). The basic idea is the developers believe they have fixed the problem within the software; our task is to verify that there are no further issues so that the solution can “go live” by tomorrow. Unfortunately, after taking my first screen shots, the system crashed, leaving Carlo and I at the mercy of the technical staff of the trading system. Finally, about two hours (and a lunch break) later, it was back up and running and I was able to continue working. Forty-eight screen shots later, I had finished my first assignment! The rest of the afternoon was fairly slow, and I was able to leave around five once again.
When I got back to Courtfield, we had a leisurely dinner with friends before laying low for the night. We originally wanted to go to the Student Union at Imperial College (the British university just a few blocks away), but we were both so exhausted we just ended up working on the blog and watching TV online for the majority of the night. Day 3 tomorrow; but something to look forward to at the end of the day: Jocey is coming to visit!
Although Tuesday morning we managed to wake up bright and early leaving us plenty of time to lounge before work, the novelty of that idea wore off about 24 hours later. For me, waking up at 7AM in order to leave Courtfield by 8AM is difficult when Facebook and YouTube videos (and often this blog!) keep me up until past midnight. Waking up when it’s still dark outside is something I don’t think I will ever get used to (but probably should). In any event, I wasn’t too pressed for time as I headed into the City for my second day of the real-world. I arrived at the office about 5 minutes earlier than my required 9:00AM start time, allowing myself time for an extra (much needed) cup of coffee.
Essentially, I am an intern in the Investment Banking Operations department, using software to complete user-accessibility testing within the Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage team; we monitor, test, and fix problems within the trading system platforms that the investment bankers use. My first task of the morning was to execute sixteen different trades in IRFE, one of our trading platforms. Just as I finished that task, Carlo (my Australian co-worker) got a call from a developer with a request to test a programming fix: my first real assignment, CFX1046 (each testing scenario has its own name). The basic idea is the developers believe they have fixed the problem within the software; our task is to verify that there are no further issues so that the solution can “go live” by tomorrow. Unfortunately, after taking my first screen shots, the system crashed, leaving Carlo and I at the mercy of the technical staff of the trading system. Finally, about two hours (and a lunch break) later, it was back up and running and I was able to continue working. Forty-eight screen shots later, I had finished my first assignment! The rest of the afternoon was fairly slow, and I was able to leave around five once again.
When I got back to Courtfield, we had a leisurely dinner with friends before laying low for the night. We originally wanted to go to the Student Union at Imperial College (the British university just a few blocks away), but we were both so exhausted we just ended up working on the blog and watching TV online for the majority of the night. Day 3 tomorrow; but something to look forward to at the end of the day: Jocey is coming to visit!
xo LC
No comments:
Post a Comment