Working as a developer in a Financial Company

As a Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineer double major, I was a bit worried when I did not have an internship lined up by the end of Fall 2016. As a Junior, the pressure is even higher, since your internship is technically supposed to lead you into a full-time position. When I got the opportunity to work as a technical Summer Analyst in a financial firm, I decided to take the chance.
This summer, I worked as a Summer Analyst- Global Technology and Operation intern with a financial company in Jersey City. Working in the tech sector of a service based company like financial companies is very different than working on pure tech roles in a product based company. Because you have little to no interaction with the products offered, you lack the opportunity to possibly interact with the direct consumers. Sometimes, it can be difficult to see the impact of the work you do on the larger consumer group. Innovation and investment into developing cool technologies is not the priority of the financial companies- they innovate in financial products- hence the technology side of it feels more like sustaining or aiding the company, rather than being the driving force behind. Most financial companies play catch up with the technology innovations, and hence, you might not get the chance to invest your time into developing cooler technologies. If you are really enthusiastic creativity and innovation in technology, developer positions in the financial companies might not be the best option for you. However, if you are looking for something stable, with a decent pay grade and good work-life balance, working in tech sector of finance companies fits you well.
As a student, you need to broaden your search for internships. Do not limit your searches to only pure tech companies such as Google, Apple, etc. There are thousands of students studying Computer Science and competing for the internships/jobs you are planning to compete. Not all tech jobs are centralized in the Silicon Valley or Seattle. All companies have a technical aspect of their business, or else they will be out of business in the future. So, take a chance and explore the experience of being a developer in service based companies too. It will be an opportunity for you to explore whether or not you could go into that industry full –time. It is much better to spend 3 months and find out something is not right for you, than 10 years down the line.
Disclaimer: All the conclusions I have drawn are based entirely on my experience and thus might not be reflective of the industry or the company as a whole.