USAA

Business Intelligence Developer

May - August 2021 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

The company work environment along with the open door policy with any of the team members

What I wish was different

The systems were really slow and they are working to optimize that but it was definitely a hindrance

Advice

Put yourself out there and just do it!

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Software Engineering Intern

May - July 2021 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

My team was great and I was able to learn a lot. I really enjoyed being able to work on a real project that delivered value to the business, although from what I understand this depends on the year. Interns also got most of the benefits afforded to real employees, which was nice.

What I wish was different

Upper leadership and management made it quite obvious that they were uncomfortable talking about compensation. Despite claiming to care about service members, I know multiple veterans whose military experience was not considered to be relevant for the return offer. Lastly, we were told (in the same meeting) that reneging our offer would be a violation of one of the company's values (loyalty), but that offers come with a deadline because they "need to know how many interns to recruit next year." Overall, it definitely felt like management considered interns/new grads to be cheap, disposable labor, and that management was comfortable trying to manipulate us for the benefit of the company.

Advice

Take advantage of your time as an intern to learn as much as you can. Everyone is super helpful, even if they're not on your team. I had conversations with engineers on teams that were only marginally related to mine, including an interesting conversation with one of the senior infrastructure engineers just because I was curious.

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Software Engineer Intern

May - July 2020 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

The team was so supportive of my and helped me get into the swing of things quickly. There was always someone available to answer questions when they arose.

What I wish was different

I wish I was able to actually work onsite, but with COVID all employees were working from home.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions when something confuses you, and don't be scared to express yourself.

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IT Intern

May - July 2020 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

Great people that made sure I was a part of the team and included on the projects.

What I wish was different

Interns are not allowed to work overtime, this made it a bit awkward when I had to leave before the rest of the team.

Advice

Make the most of it and learn as much as possible, a lot of very experienced people there that enjoy helping you progress.

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Full-Stack Software Engineer

May - July 2020 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

I really liked the assignment offered by USAA. It was directly applicable to my degree in software engineering. They offered the opportunity to get a close experience in the belly of corporate software development which allowed me to gain perspectives in the pleasures and pains that go along with it. I really liked that everything that I have learned so far at ASU was helpful in various ways to the real world.

What I wish was different

I was online, and so it was very different than what a normal internship would be like at USAA. USAA puts a lot of effort into curating the internship experience, and us being the first internship class during the covid epidemic gave us our own challenges.

Advice

Be outgoing and do your best to talk to other groups that are all working independently. Everyone I reached out to was supportive and wanted me to succeed. Being outgoing, and being genuinely interested in learning is the keys to success for almost any new position.

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Corporate Financial Analyst

May - July 2019 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

USAA and the Financial Development Program is very well structured and supportive! They treat their interns so nice and give them all the tools to be successful! You never feel alone.

What I wish was different

I wish it would of been longer!

Advice

Definitely reach out and go to all the events USAA is hosting weather it’s the career fair or networking events!

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Information Security Analyst

May - July 2019 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

The friendly environment and willingness of help from other workers.

What I wish was different

Advice

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Software Developer & Integrator

May - July 2019 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

Everything. USAA is a fantastic employer with amazing benefits and an incredible work environment. I was working on a real project that they have now put into production.

What I wish was different

I wish Texas wasn't so humid, but I honestly have no complaints about my experience. Everything else was perfect.

Advice

If you have the chance, apply! If you are in a technology related degree, USAA is awesome. Learn about their core values and if you'd be a good fit for the company.

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Software Developer

June - August 2018 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

The people, the atmosphere, the direction I was given to help me develop my career.

What I wish was different

Advice

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get to know the people around you. Companies don’t expect their interns to know a lot.

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Frontend Software Engineer

November 2018 - July 2019 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

Really nice people that are always willing to help.

What I wish was different

Advice

Be ready and studied up on Java service frameworks, namely Spring

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Staff Underwriting Intern

May - July 2019 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

I liked the responsibility that I was given, and the amount of help with project that I received when needed. The work/life balance was amazing along with the company culture. I was able to see the real value of teamwork, and how things were interconnected in my department.

What I wish was different

I wish my project was a little bit more tied into the focus of my internship. All in all, there was nothing else that I would change.

Advice

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and maybe make a mistake here and there. Internships are meant for you to have a learning curve in that field.

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Data Engineering Intern

May - July 2019 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

I loved the culture at USAA. The full time employees that I worked with were very helpful when I had questions and were willing to help me understand what I was asked to complete.

What I wish was different

I wish finding housing would have been a little easier. It was hard to find a place to live having no family down in Phoenix.

Advice

Begin networking early in your studies. I found this internship when I was a sophomore, so never think you are to young to start interviewing for internships.

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Software Developer and Integrator III

May - August 2019 • Plano, TX

What I liked

This was an intense and amazing learning experience. USAA has its reputation for being the most prestigious IT internship someone can get for a reason. They plop you into a SCRUM team and you are put right to work as if you were a full hire in their team. I wrote test code to ensure that the API my team was working on functioned, I helped implement the front end, integrate the two functions together, and so much more on just the technical side. For the business side I was a part of every meeting, and I really got to be vocal during planning sessions and offer my opinion.

What I wish was different

As indicated by the title, being a software developer requires a mass of coding knowledge. I was never and remain to be shaky in my confidence with coding so I tended to pair program a lot where two heads would work in one IDE. Pair programming itself is not what I wish was different, but rather who drove. I tended to be the passenger in pair programming letting my fellow co-worker do the driving, but I would have learned more and retained more had I driven with the pair programming.

Advice

If you are fortunate enough to find your selves through the doors of USAA, then talk to and set up 30 min meetings with as many managers as possible. Each place has their own way of running their team and they all have unique wisdoms to share. Besides, this IS a 10 week interview, you might find a manager that you click with perfectly and end up on their team. If you keep your head down, you won't have used your internship to it's full potential in building a network and learning about the company.

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Auto Adjuster Intern

May - July 2019 • Tampa, FL

What I liked

Great people, culture, and values!

What I wish was different

It was an excellent internship. Very structured and a fantastic experience!

Advice

It is a great internship but it is also a lot of fun. I wold recommend it to anyone!

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Data Engineering Intern

May - July 2019 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

I loved the culture at USAA. I also enjoyed learning how to apply all of my skills from class to real world problems.

What I wish was different

I wish I had gone into my internship not worried about my skill set. Once I got comfortable, I realized that I knew enough and had the skills to learn what was needed. These are all taught to students here at BYU-Idaho.

Advice

No matter what year you are in school, begin to network. The earlier you begin, the better it will be for you. I found this internship through personal networking. So network!

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Credit Risk Analyst

February 2015 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

Work Life balance, opportunity for diverse experience, workplace culture, benefits

What I wish was different

Opportunities for advancement,

Advice

USAA is a great company with awesome benefits, If you want to stay at an employer for The long term USAA is a greater place to build a career

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Software Developer and Integrator III

May - August 2018 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

USAA is an amazing company that really puts the member and mission first. The culture was not what I had expected from a larger company; it had a very startup-style feel yet was not held back by the lack of personnel and resources that most startups have. This impressed me a lot, I was expecting a very strict development methodology as this was my first large organization I have worked for. Instead I got to work with a modern stack and people with so many unique skill sets to learn from.

What I wish was different

USAA is a large company, so naturally they have the resources to put together plenty of events for the interns. During my internship we had plenty of events weekly, which I had heard had been scaled back based on previous internship feedback. I still feel there were a bit too many coordinated events. Still, this is a minor nitpick as it was not a strain on the experience. Perhaps events could have been biweekly instead.

Advice

If you like the freedom of start-up culture but want a solid foundation of experienced developers to learn from, USAA is an excellent choice!

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Software Engineering I

May - August 2018 • Phoenix, AZ

What I liked

I loved working for USAA because they prioritized learning over productivity level. They made sure that I was able to have whatever experience I thought would be valuable so that my internship would help me be more rounded.

What I wish was different

While I loved working close to where I live now, going back I wish I would have chosen to intern at the Plano office. I have been considering leaving Phoenix when I graduate but have no idea what that area is like.

Advice

I would tell other students to make sure to chose a company that aligns with their long-term goals and that they believe would help them have a sense of purpose and accomplishment rather than just a paycheck. I chose to accept a full-time offer with USAA because they care about members of the military and their local communities, and both of those are important to me.

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Software Development Intern

May - August 2018 • San Antonio, TX

What I liked

Everybody on the team was willing to help whenever I had questions or bugs in my code that I couldn't work out. Sometimes the entire team would swarm around my laptop and, despite having little no experience with the language I was using, they shared their views on the high-level concepts and had great, insightful questions. That degree of teamwork is impressive and certainly memorable! Regarding the company, it lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes its mission -- to serve those who serve.

What I wish was different

Advice

Anybody can learn an algorithm or learn a new language. What the hiring staff want to see is initiative, confidence, and energy. They want to hire people they want to work with... who also happen to be capable at what they do. Go into your interviews with a calm and professional attitude, but be prepared to have fun with the people you interact with. Be excited!

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