Safety and Reliability Engineering Intern Review

The internship has been very enjoyable. For the most part it's very well organised with every intern being given a clear set of goals at the beginning (and plenty of opportunity for discussion if these aren't suitable). Overall a good place to work.

All the work given has been of genuine value to the team and I was trusted with similar level stuff as the rest of my team. Everyone was always willing to help whatever the question. I also had a large number of meetings with people outside my team and, on learning that I was an intern, launch into full explanation of who they were and what they and their team do within the company. The overall attitude towards interns is hugely positive which makes a huge difference!

My line manager was incredibly busy and only in the office a few times a week, however most departments also assign a "buddy" who was more available. I also felt completely free to contact my manager directly if I needed anything despite him not always being around. On the off chance no one was available there were always other team members willing to help.

I had one major project which I continued throughout my internship as well as other bits and pieces. I fairly regularly found myself having to slow down on work so that I had enough to do. This wasn't the fault of the team or my manager as for a lot of things I needed a fair amount of help (most of what I did was completely new to me) which in a busy team isn't always possible. When I ran out of stuff to do people were always willing to take 10 minutes out of their day to help me find something else, even if only as a time filler until someone was free to help with more complex things.

My main project was entirely left to me. I had to set up and lead meetings with people from all over the company then compile and analyse the information to give a final recommendation at the end of my internship. Beyond this, once I knew what I was doing, I was trusted to do work of my own accord. Whatever level of responsibility I was given, help was always available whenever I needed it.

The area I worked i was applicable to all industries (something I specifically requested when on the assessment day) so will definitely be useful in the future, although I probably won't continue in this area in the future. It has helped cement a lot of "engineering judgement" sort of abilities which will be completely invaluable. This has also led me to gain a massive amount of confidence in my ability to be a successful engineer after I graduate. There are also a fair amount of generic office and interpersonal skills which I've been able to build on.

As you'd expect from an office environment, for the most part people worked fairly quietly with small discussions about the work here and there. There were also semi-regular conversations about other things and one or two running jokes. At least once a week someone would bring in cake/ biscuits/ sweets for pretty much any reason they could find. By the end of week 2 there had been cake on 50% of the days I'd been there but sadly this dropped off later on. Obviously the general atmosphere depends hugely on your team and I know other people who weren't as lucky (although no one who completely hated it).

In general everything was well organised and general communication to interns was very good. The first week was slightly chaotic with various IT issues (I believe IT's servers went down on day 1 which meant things which should have been fixed quickly were dragged out for days) but by week 2 everything had sorted itself out. There were also some last minute changes to the date and location of the corporate induction and communication about when we could pick up our IDs was lacking. Again, beyond the first week everything was fine.

Only being there for the summer meant there weren't a huge number of opportunities available for training and development (for year long interns I believe there are more) as it isn't particularly cost effective. There are however a massive range courses on the online training system that you can do at any time. We had a function away day with some general training (mostly information about discrimination and internal biases) and activities which was fairly interesting. I was also told about some training opportunities on the grad scheme which seem interesting.

The grad scheme seems very well put together and is one of the most popular in the industry. Although I haven't completely decided yet, based on my experience so far I will probably be returning. The scheme consists of rotations through a variety of departments which is great if you're still not sure what to do with your life and provides an opportunity for chartership later on which is one of my main goals. For the engineering scheme these rotations have to meet various criteria (one each for design, make and verify as well as an additional design and make placement).

In Derby, most summer interns stay in the university halls as it's convenient for a short term let. At least a few times a week people would meet in the common room for drinks. I believe at some points there were also barbecues and maybe a pub quiz? Rolls Royce has an Apprentice and Graduate Association which all interns etc. are entitled to join. They regularly organise events locally and usually manage to get discounts. I never went to any of these (much more of a night in person) but everyone who did had a great time!

Derby is super cheap. I went out for dinner far more regularly than I normally would and was amazed at how little it cost (and I live up north normally). A free shuttle bus is provided to and from the site every day which really cuts travel costs, plus you can get trains to larger cities such as Sheffield for under £10 so days out at the weekend are easy! Derby Uni halls weren't super cheap although weren't much more expensive than most other uni halls. If you wanted to put the effort in you could quite easily find a better deal.

I'm not one for going out so can't comment too much on this. There were a few nice bars around the place and a great little pub next door. From what I heard the clubs aren't great but again can't really comment.

If you looked they were available, but I didn't really feel the need.