Placement Year Review at National Instruments

The Role

Role Description

Primarily to support customers using National Instruments tools in the UK, who span every field of Science, Engineering and Technology. Secondarily to support the business in Sales and Marketing activities, as well as to deliver teaching to NI Customers both on and off site.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

NI UK and Ireland has received the award for being in the top 50 best work places in the entire UK for six years now, and with very good reason. The culture of the colleagues is just as valuable as the work on the placement itself.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

The work force at NI UK is very well described as one big family.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Support and guidance was always present when we needed it, but a big part of the placement was the idea of self drive and self learning - I had the flexibility to learn about what interested me and work toward the goals in those fields rather than being regimented on a strict program of learning.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

There were times during the year that got busy and other times that were quite relaxed, just like university. During the busy times you really learnt how to manage time and prioritise what was actually important and what wasn't.

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

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

During my time in the Marketing Department I really was running my own show, with goals I had help creating by myself which lead to a great deal of satisfaction. As an applications engineer things were very similar, bu goals were set more by customer needs.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

This placement year has been more valuable to my development as a person than my past 3 years in university.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Again, referencing the 50 best places to work in the UK award for six years running, the atmosphere was great. As an undergraduate, it was very nice to work in a deprtment where all of work force were still in there 20's.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

The internship program is a well oiled, tried and tested machine at NI UK. We even had some cross over time with the previous year's interns which was very beneficial and let us swap a lot of experience and opinions.

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I have been put through training in engineering and programming completely free of charge, that would have cost nearing £20,000 if I had waited until after university. During the entire year, the training and learning never stops, and the more experienced full-timers still say the same of there job positions.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 5/10

• Subsidised/Company Gym
• Company Parties/Events

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I have already been given a scholarship to return to university as well as fully paid work the following summer break.

Other Information

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

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Yes, and not only down the pub. We got up to loads of different things on the weekends, including all the usuals like paintballing and go karting, and even traveled around the country to different night-life hot spots.

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

★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 1/10

Newbury was remarkably expensive in comparison to my home town - Cardiff, and even that atracts the costs of living in a capital city. My rent went up 50% for a place half the size of where I moved from, and the cost of beer and food also rose around 50%. Being so close to the M4 motorway, we often escaped Newbury on the weekends.

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

★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 3/10

Again, in comparison to having moved from Cardiff, prices were high and choice low. But there was enough to enjoy.

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

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Yes there were many. We even attempted the three peaks challenge one weekend.

Review 2/7 for National Instruments

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