Mechanical Intern Review

I enjoy my placement a lot for the following reasons. Firstly, I was given projects that are valuable to the company. I am doing projects that a permanent employee will be doing. Secondly, the projects given are challenging and stimulating. Not do they involve the application of engineering knowledge, they also involved project management skills on costs consideration, delivery date, etc. Thirdly, I enjoy the working atmosphere. Colleagues are helpful and friendly. They are willing to share their knowledge of expertise.

Colleagues are helpful and friendly. They are from different nationalities but there is not much boundaries in between. I have received a lot of welcoming and support from my colleagues since started. It is also being appreiated how the company works globally with the centers in other part of the world. They have not met me but they are willing to spare time to give as much support on the projects that I was working which was much appreciated.

My manager is always available to help. She is readily available all the time so that I can seek help very quickly. We have a good communication between and the projects given are satisfying challenging and diverse. She is also having a good keep up with my project and giving advice accordingly. She has also helped me to resolve problems arise due to unfamiliar with the company's structure and working procedures.

Tasks aren't given in day to day basics which means they are projects of scale that require a few months for finishing. The company working culture is that there are targets to meet for every quarter. I have the freedom to organise my time to achieve the targets by the end of the quarter. I was given quite a few of projects that filled up every hour of my day to ensure the date of delivery of the projects were met.

Fully taking responsibility of a project means that not only does the engineering knowledge learnt from university that is required, project management skills are also crucial to meet the date of delivery set for the projects. Despite that, communication skills is also being developed as the projects might involved other parties that not necessarily be engineering related. Problem solving skills are also being developed due to some environmental constraints. Apart from the soft skill, the company has also organised knowledge sharing section on topics range from engineering related to soft skills training that is beneficial to individuals.

In terms of the physical environment, people are working on separate desks. The desks are sufficient large that can accommodate at least two 24" monitors. No crowded feeling and the interior colour used is warmth and comfortable. In general, it is quite quiet in the office with occasionally discussion sound but they are within acceptable volume. In terms of working culture, people are working longer than suggested hours. Officing hour is different from person to person as they company works on flexible time and self-discipline.

It is nice to be given a buddy, whom is a permanent employee in the company to assist throughout the internship. He has given me a lot of support in adapting to the working environment and familiarise myself with the company's standard working procedures, such as documentation format. There are also online training courses that needed to be completed before given projects to work on. Trainings range from introducing the company to training to safety. I am being made aware of the safety precaution in the tasks before carrying them out to reduce injuries.

Apart from learning from doing the projects, training and development are mainly given in form of online training materials, knowledge sharing sessions or helps received from colleagues. Training courses do not seem to be widely available for interns unless requested by managers. It is not common to raise request on training courses even for permanent employee.

Future prospect is heavily dependent on the market. At the zenith, a lot opportunities are available such as moving to or receiving training from different centers in the globe. At bad times, company is shrinking a lot to accommodate the issue. Training programs are well developed, and career path is clearly explained to the employee. Therefore, it is definitely worth working with if the market is good.

Due to the location of the company is in the industrial site with only a small town nearby. Social life after work is almost none near the company. After work socialising events happen mainly within colleagues living in the same area rather than near the company. However, there is a tea room in the office and sofa outside the office that offer places for break chat with other colleagues. Also, there is cake bake Friday and occasionally cakes bring in from colleagues during the week that spark up the working days. Barbecue days happen from time to time to provide great opportunities to know more about each other.