Internal Technical Engineer Review

I really enjoyed the placement overall, I think the largest factor which made it work was the team. Working within a small office allowed me to network very effectively with people working in different areas of the organization. Everyone I worked with took a good approach to their work and offered good advice when needed

Although the placement allows you to cycle through three positions; sales, technical support and repair & calibration, each of these put me in a position where I was able to do real work and contribute. Even as an intern you will be trusted with being able to provide a good level of support to both the internal teams and customers. The only issue I could see with this approach was that satisfaction with the sales role could be very variable depending on the project given.

Guidance was given both through either meetings or more casual discussion. This worked fairly well as understandably it can be hard to schedule meetings to occur very week under all circumstances. I found that most of the time I was able to schedule a discussion with the manager with ease if needed.

It was dependent on the role. Sales started off a bit slow but picked up pace quite a lot as more was taken on. The other roles always gave something to do. You really get what you put in to each role.

I was given a lot more responsibility than I expected which was good as it gave me a very good idea on what the actual role would entail. Usually I would be in a situation which any employee could realistically be put in.

I can see a lot of the communications engineering technical skills coming in useful during my next year of studies. The year has helped me in directing my efforts in both study and career aspirations a lot. Aside from that it also provided a lot of future contacts and experience in people.

The office was quite small but this allowed you to get to know the teams better. Although everyone worked pretty hard there was a generally relaxed feeling. People were always available to help or provide guidance at some point. The office could probably put on more social events but those that were put on were a good chance to connect.

It may have had a slightly slow start due to the training (which is understandable as the training was necessary) but it picked up. The manager was very organized with the placement structure, with a schedule being provided at the very start. Clear deadlines were set for tasks. Room was given for roles to be slightly extended if needed.

Training at the beginning had some out of date material but this was topped up through a week of more intensive hands on training on key parts of the portfolio. A lot of sessions were organized to allow the interns to improve on technical knowledge and soft skills supplemented by on-site experts.

It has definitely been useful in terms of helping direct my efforts towards my career. It was a great exposure to the different options available not only in the test and measurement industry but also my degree. I would happily work for the organization in the future.

The interns this year got on very well, really making the placement at many points. Team was a 10/10.

I lived in a young professionals house in Earley which was much more expensive than my previous student accommodation even though I lived with more people this year. Transport links to the office were a poor option as it took 25 minutes to walk to the train station. It would have been much better to have lived closer to Reading town center which although it was further away would have still got me into the office in better time.

This was decent although from what I hear it used to be better. London is close by for a better evening out. Reading does have a few gems though if you find them.