Summer placement (Hardware team) Review

There was not a lot of room for creativity in terms of design work, but otherwise it was very enjoyable. There were a lot of problems with the software which slowed down my work a lot, but this is inevitable and not anybody's fault, and it taught me valuable lessons in searching for solutions.

The team treated me well, and I was made to feel like another member of the group. As with my previous placements, I have a presentation to give at the end of the final week, and I'm sure they will be interested to hear what I have been working on, and value the progress I've made.

All members of the team were very willing to help me whenever I needed it, specifically my "buddy", who has been assigned to assisting me. The HR team have also been helpful in sorting out any issues with paperwork and organising holidays/leave. I'm also certain that had I further issues, they would be eager to make sure my placement went as smoothly as possible.

Due to the nature of the project, there was always more work to be doing, even when my current work had finished. There were certain expectation on how much I would finish, but I was not pressured to take on more than I could handle, so I could work at my own pace and complete as much as I could to a high quality

Although there were lots of internship students working on the same project, our job was quite important and needed to be done correctly. Most of us were assigned to different teams, and therefore were responsible for improving the code from those members without breaking any functionality. Although our work was overseen, were didn't have our hands held, so it was up to us to report any issues, and solve problems.

I know more about debugging and reviewing code now, since I've had to be able to analyse code written by other members of the team, which will help in my University degree. It's important to be able to manage your own time, and not waste time on tasks which are too difficult, time consuming, or aren't worth it in the long run. It was a good exercise on time management.

The office is laid back and comfortable, but also hardworking and efficient. There is no issue with taking a break or talking to colleagues, which stops it from getting tiring when there are long days of work.

The company has take on a lot of internship students before, so they are very proficient in integrating the students, getting people comfortable with their teams, setting up their computer workspaces and letting us get on with our work. The training is comprehensive and easy to follow, so we don't get too caught up in the technicalities of working with industry standard programs.

They took the time to teach us how to use multiple industry standard programs.

I have been offered a scholarship placement with the company, and I am very much looking forward to working for them once my University degree has ended. There are a lot of perks having worked with them for so many years in work experience and placement positions. There have been recent falls in the stock prices, but they are rising again, and hopefully the company will be in a good place by the time I join permanently.

We met up fairly regularly, taking trips to the local pub or for lunch.

I live locally to the area, since I was employed when the HR department here visited my secondary school. Therefore the cost was not particularly high for me. However from my conversation with other students, the price can be relatively high, considering the area is quite close to London, and a lot of the placements students seem to be renting accommodation there, and commuting in to work.

There isn't a huge night life scene locally, mainly consisting of a few pubs and bars.

There is a good sports and social society, which organise multiple trips out to see films and shows.