ERNST & YOUNG INTERNSHIP BLOG
MY FIRST INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE: CYBER-SECURITY CONSULTING
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By Divyansh Bhutra | June 2023
In the first half of 2023, I interned at Ernst & Young Singapore as a cyber-security consultant. I was involved in a number of projects in my 6-months there and I picked up a lot of skills and experience while getting my first taste of corporate life. Read below to find out more about what I worked on, what I learned, and the weaknesses that I identified.
I was first fascinated with cyber-security after watching the television show Mr. Robot. I had known Ernst & Young was a MNC involved in consulting, but I wasn’t aware that they had a cybersecurity division too. When I saw the internship offer, I knew that this would prove to be an interesting and valuable experience. I began my internship in January of 2023 excited to learn more about the world of cybersecurity, and what better place to do so than a well-established corporation like Ernst & Young.
At first, I was assigned to help out with various small internal projects before I got my main project assignment. During this time I learnt a lot about corporate culture and how things are organized in large corporations such as EY.
My main project was very interesting - I was tasked with developing a Java script to automate the onboarding of new users for the client. In this project, I took on responsibilities in corresponding with the client, taking minutes in meetings and also developing the Java script from scratch.
A challenge I faced was managing my work in a timely manner and communication effectively with clients and management. I learnt to make meticulous notes of every communication and meeting with the client to leave a paper trail (and this helped my company a lot!)
Another aspect of communication that I struggled with was communicating with managers. I found that I would often flounder in meetings so I learnt an important strategy - to take notes of what I wanted to bring up to my mentor. Lastly, I realized that I had to learn to manage my time - unfortunately university isn’t great at teaching this as students get a lot of flexibility when it comes to completing assignments - something I found out the hard way is completely different in the corporate world.
Negotiating with clients can be tough and ruthless! Although I was not personally involved in negotiating with clients, I was present in those meetings and I got to observe the entire process of negotiating a business deal.
This internship taught me a lot about how to manage my work and manage the expectations of those I work with - both superiors and clients. I also learnt about how important things like passion and sense of fulfillment are to me when looking for careers. And ultimately, though I was initially interested in cyber-security, I realized that there are many aspects of this field that are not as interesting as I previously thought.
