Summer Intern Review

I have enjoyed working at Siemens because I am treated as an employee rather than just a student intern. It's been a very valuable experience to experience day to day life in an office and learn about an industry I didn't know anything about. There have been lots of opportunities to gain new experiences and learn new skills.

I feel valued and respected in how the others in the office talk to me. I am treated like an employee and other employees have enjoyed explaining and sharing the advantages of being employed by Siemens wit me. I do not feel quite so valued in the work I have been given, a fair proportion of the work has been very simple tasks which have not stretched my brain.

My line manager has been very good at meeting up for coffee with me every week to ask me how it's going and point me in the right direction. This has been a very useful point of contact and good support when I've had questions. It was difficult in the first couple of weeks as I knew very few people but as my confidence has grown there have been more people I've been able to ask for help.

Generally, I have had just about enough work to keep me busy throughout the day but there have been some days when I've had to search for additional work as I've not been given enough to do. I have not been very busy.

I have been given minimal responsibility, the tasks I have been given have not been too challenging and have not stretched me as much as I would have liked. However, in meetings I have been able to explain the work I've done and people have really appreciated my input.

A lot of the skills I've developed have been very specific to the industry and are not overly transferable but I have had access to new software which will may be useful in my future. Additionally the general experience of office routine, meeting conduct and being employed has been extremely valuable and will be beneficial in my future employment.

The atmosphere of the office varies a lot on how many people are in. When the team I sit near are in the office the atmosphere is lively, active and fun. I am included and enjoy getting to know more people. When team members are working at a different office it can be very quiet and more difficult to motivate myself.

The admin and IT was very well set up and all ready for me when I arrived. I have been paid on time and been able to submit expenses with ease. The project for my internship has been less well organized, it took them about a week to find me some work to do which meant I was left to read some quite dry material for a while.

The company have really invested in me as an employee. I have been offered several training courses, however these have all been very specific to the industry that I've been working in rather than general training in the field of my degree, therefore the training will only be valuable if I pursue a career in the same industry I've worked in throughout my placement.

Siemens as an employer has been excellent and I'm definitely interested in future prospects within the organization. Unfortunately I'm not particularly inspired to pursue a career in the Rail Automation industry where my placement has been based but working within such a large organization has been very inspiring and has revealed the many opportunities available to me.

I have been working in the same office as one other intern and met an additional three interns throughout my time here. We have all got on well and enjoyed getting to know each other. We have also been able to get on well with the graduates on the graduate scheme and were invited to join the for a meal after work one day which was very enjoyable.

I have been able to live at home during my placement and drive in. This has been extremely convenient for me and saved me a lot of money over the summer, especially as I've been earning too.

I have been working in Chippenham and living in Corsham, both are small town and have little to offer in the way of nightlife. However, Bath is not far away, neither is Bristol. Both of these cities have many more exciting clubs and bars available.

There have been several opportunities to get involved in activities outside the work I've been doing. I have been able to involve myself in STEM ambassador days out and several other day trips to Siemens related establishments all of which have been engaging, inspiring and also covered in expenses. Additionally, there are a team from the office running the local half marathon and there is also a charity walk to be involved in. There has also been a chillie growing competition in the office but it started before the beginning of my internship.