Applications Engineer Review

I found my placement to be engaging and interesting, with many opportunities to develop myself further as a person. As such I feel like I've managed to get a lot out of my placement and enjoyed my time working there. Additionally I found the environment to be very friendly and relaxed most of the time.

The work that I did was meaningful and I could see the direct impact that it had on our customers. I felt like an important part of the team and was treated with respect by my colleagues and managers. A key question that we are encouraged to ask on a daily basis is "is the work we are doing adding value to the company" - which the answer was usually yes.

Throughout my placement I had regular one-to-one meetings with my team leader, where I had ample opportunity to discuss any concerns that I had. Additionally I also benefited from personalised mentoring that was offered when I moved into a new position. Additionally I also received a lot of support from my colleagues who had started before me, who ensured that I was informed and comfortable with the work that I was doing.

The vast majority of the time there was a reasonable workload that kept us busy throughout the day. Occasionally the workload did get high which led to increased stress and a drop in morale across the department. However this was probably only 10% of the time throughout the year and proved to be the exception, not the rule.

The work that I was doing on a daily basis was solving problems that customers were having. These customers ranged from small businesses "one man bands" to large multinational companies that impact a large amount of our business. As such there was a lot of responsibility to ensure that the customers issues were fixed (often against deadlines) and make sure that they had a good experience.

I learnt a wealth of information about several technical areas that I didn't have exposure to in my degree, and I also managed to develop my "soft skills" from talking to customers on a daily basis. Learning how to work with agitated customers, as well as persuading and influencing people is something that I can apply to not only my future work but personal relationships too.

The atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly. Employees are encouraged to discuss problems with each other and work through to find a solution. The office is well provisioned and is a healthy environment where people are free to choose their own workflow and their own breaks. Employees are encouraged to develop their own time management skills.

The internship started with an initial training period, which consisted of the same material that would be presented to real customers who sat the courses. We then started working in the Technical Support department, with options to partake in rotations into other departments. There was additional training and personal / group projects organised throughout the year.

The ELP program ensures that there is continuous investment in employees that are part of it. As well as a large amount of training (that would rack up to thousands if customers wanted to sit it) that employees undertake, there is also significant time invested at various stages to ensure that you are learning and growing as a person.

A good proportion of people who undertake an internship at National Instruments have the chance to come back as a gradate and spend a further year on the ELP program. As such many people who are in higher levels of the company started their career in Technical Support and it is easy to see many examples of how you can go on to develop yourself further in the future.

There is a good social scene and many employees meet up outside of office hours.

Housing in Newbury is expensive. The general cost of living is quite high.

As a small town Newbury does not have much night life, but more is available in nearby larger cities such as Reading.

There were social activities and events that people got involved in outside of work.