Placement Year Review at MBDA

The Role

Role Description

Generating and maintaining Technical Requirement Specifications; supporting environmental testing activities; producing basic software for communication with test equipment; writing test plans and testing components.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

The job was good and I was well supported. They kept me busy with new work throughout the year.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I was well integrated into a small team of around 6 or so people, and given a relatively specialist technical area in which to gain some knowledge and contribute to the project.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

My line manager was also a really good friend and he made sure to always give me praise and support where due, and was happy to help with a personal reference later.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Almost ideal balance of work was given, where I had long running projects overlaid by smaller, week-long tasks that meant that I was never sat twiddling my thumbs.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I was given as much responsibility as I could reasonably expect from the job.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Completely changed my outlook on returning to my final year. Univeristy became less driven by grades and more focused on the learning topics, and more objective. In a way this hurt some of my university projects because I found them boring and repetitive where they didn't seem to really help me but I still had to do them to get the marks!!

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Definitely a fairly gentle pace in the office but a very friendly bunch of engineers with a lot of experience to pass on. Quite a few company socials though, often paid for by the project (I think I joined the project at a lucky moment)

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Organisation was very good!

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

There seemed to be a reluctance to invest in the more expensive training courses, and perhaps the managers saw me as a "freebie" (paid for by HR). That said, I was trained in Electro Static Discharge, Emergency First Aid and all of the basic training about company security/safety/processes etc was given.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

• Flexi Time
• Subsidised Canteen
• National Travel
• Financial Bonus
• Company Parties/Events
• Above 25 days holiday

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I've returned to the company for a summer placement, and I hope they will offer me a permanant graduate job when I finish my masters.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Luckily I moved in with 4 other grads/undergrads so the atmosphere was awesome! Bristol has a great night life, and we all cooked for each other and partied with each other... Couldn't have been better!

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Average

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Bristol is a very cool city to live in.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

There is plenty to do.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

Whatever placement you get, remember that you might need to ask your boss for more work and there's nothing wrong with that.

Review 35/67 for MBDA

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