Marine Intern Review

Very much so. I was based in the Hydrodynamics Team at the Global Technology Centre in Southampton and was immediately given live projects to work on. The work was stimulating, challenging and interesting. Apart from daily tasks, we were also given a group project to complete with the other Interns and had the chance to represent the company at a local STEM event.

Highly. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and helpful from the start. I had limited knowledge of marine engineering or naval architecture prior to starting the internship, but was quickly pointed in the right direction and covered the basics swiftly in the first weeks. The work that was given to me was challenging and required lots of thinking, but never outside the scope of my ability. It was difficult and required effort, but never frustratingly impossible and help was offered every step of the way.

You receive support every step of the way, whether it is from the graduate recruitment team who conduct the initial interviews, all the way through to your line manager, mentor and colleagues. The grad team checked up on me on a weekly basis to offer support and see how I was doing. My mentor and department co-workers were always there to answer any technical questions that came up along the way (and many certainly did!). Overall, the support is wonderful.

Quite busy, but in a good way. There was always something to work on, whether it was individual tasks assigned to me by the team or the group project. However, the workload was never overwhelming; I would say it was just the right amount to keep an intern constantly absorbed, but not too much to be frustrating. Of course, that depends on your time management as well.

On the first day, I was assigned to a live project that the Hydrodynamics team was involved in and had the chance to participate hands on from the very start. The responsibility given to me was proportionate to the skill level, therefore the assigned tasks were not of major importance, but nevertheless had a substantial impact on the projects and offered a great learning opportunity. You definitely feel as if you can make an impact with the work you put it.

My work involved a lot of Visual Basic programming in Microsoft Excel and creating data analysis spreadsheets, which are certainly skills applicable to an Engineering degree and most especially to a future in any industry. Going into the final year of my Mechanical Engineering course, I feel a lot better prepared and confident in my abilities. My plan is to use written VBA macros for my honours project.

Very pleasant. Everyone was quite cheerful, helpful and welcoming. Obviously, each employee was busy with their own work, but never refused to answer a question or query I had. I guess it may be worth noting that it was a bit quiet at times, as everyone was absorbed in what they were currently doing, but casual chat and regular teamwork were in the norm as well. Generally, the atmosphere was very friendly and I enjoyed coming to work every day.

Incredibly well structured and organized. I got that impression from the very onset, where we were given a 2-day induction to the internship program. The 8 weeks were very intense, with a mid-term review presentation and presentation skills training course in the middle, as well as a final presentation on the group project at the end. Never for a second did I get a feeling that there was a lack of organization throughout my time at Lloyd's Register.

First of all, the internship is paid and you get a market based salary which is quite competitive when compared to other internship programs. There is also a presentation skills training course in the middle, which I found very helpful. All travel that is required throughout the 8 weeks (for example to the London Head Office) is subsidized by Lloyd's Register. In terms of personal development, it certainly feels as if they invest a lot in you, and from what I have heard speaking to current graduates this is especially true for the graduate scheme.

Completing the internship gives you fast-track access through the graduate scheme recruitment process and a substantial chunk of the graduate intake consists of previous interns. There is a technical interview and assessment day still, but you have the benefit of having worked for LR previously. You get to experience different aspects of Lloyd's Register throughout your time there and see whether a future career with them as a marine surveyor (and not only) is the right path for you. For someone who is interested in the marine industry, the future employment prospects are amazing.

As mentioned previously, everyone I worked with was very friendly and helpful. As interns we got to know quite a few of the current graduates working there, who were pretty much the same age as us and they made settling in so much easier. The social scene within the company was very good and it was easy to meet new people.

I was based in Southampton, but was easily able to pay for rent and living costs from the salary we received as interns. I study in Scotland and compared to up north it was a bit more expensive, but with the internship wage you can certainly live comfortably and save some as well!

I was living with my girlfriend and since we are foreign, we used the time to explore the south of England a bit and travel around the area, so we didn't go out on the town as much. I know for a fact however that there are a lot of clubs in Southampton; from what I saw it was mostly older folk though. Perhaps that is because it is a student city and the internship was done over the summer, so everyone was gone for the holidays. Overall, there are definitely places to go out but I'm probably not the one to comment on quality.

Yes. Lots of sports clubs, like 5-a-side football and sailing if someone was interested. As interns, we got to participate in a STEM event for school kids and represent Lloyd's Register.