Mechanical Engineering Summer Intern Review

by Cavendish Nuclear

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4/5
  • The Role
    4.3
  • The Company
    3.4
  • The Culture
    4.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • I found my 3 months with Cavendish thoroughly enjoyable. I was instantly welcomed onto the project I was a part of both socially and as a colleague. I was given work that was both interesting and effective for my professional development. It is a well structured and organised placement with a strong focus on personal development as well as your enjoyment and happiness throughout.

    5/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • I expected to be able to contribute little to the overall service my office provided due to the safety critical nature of nuclear engineering. This was not the case. Under close supervision and with constant feedback I was enabled to be able to show creative spirit and technical flair in providing many engineering deliverables and design work that is genuinely useful for the project as whole. The fact that I was not assigned 'busy work' meant that I felt extremely valued.

    4/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • My direct manager had a wealth of responsibilities so could not always find time for me but other lines of support through Learning & Development as well as the buddy system stepped in to fill this gap. I found that in general anyone who asked work of me was happy to give me as much guidance and feedback as I wanted.

    4/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • As with any engineering workplace there where lulls in work. However, in this time as long as I showed some initiative there was always work to be done. Also, in a very intelligent move from Cavendish I was assigned a longer term task that required only one other interns input. This meant that if there where hold points in work for other engineers I could spend some time on this project instead.

    4/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • As much as I was willing to take on. Within a few weeks I felt a big a part of the team as any other engineer. As long as you show continued performance with Cavendish trust from colleagues and managers will build very quickly and responsibility will be handed to you, despite young age.

    5/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • With regards to my degree I do not this placement has been too helpful as my work was not very technical. However, for future industrial work it has been great. I now have a real understanding of how large scale engineering projects are run and feel I know how to contribute well to one.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • Easygoing and understanding. Perhaps partially due to the naturally slow nature of nuclear engineering a relaxed attitude is taken to the intensity of a working day. People are always allowed to take breaks, talk and work there own flexible hours. Unless they are incredibly busy everyone, even up to Chief Execs can find time to talk to a summer intern with questions.

    5/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • I think this is one of the only areas in which I have negative feedback. Prior to me starting the placement there was some lapses in communications both internally and to me. This caused a misunderstanding as to which office I was working in and therefore I ended up living a little further from work than I would have liked. I truly believe Cavendish is going to work hard to rectify this for future years though.

    2/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • The internship scheme has been running for a fair number of years now and I think because of this there is plenty of pre-organised development days in it including a trip to a power plant. This shows very well that Cavendish is thoroughly invested in developing interns with a mind to keeping them on into the grad scheme.

    4/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • 3/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • The grad scheme is by far the best I have seen. It is payed well, allows for travel, will pay for accommodation at remote offices and most importantly is tailored to improve your skills rather than get work out of you. Also, as Cavendish is a part of Babcock if Nuclear engineering isn't for you a transfer is easy to do.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • This will differ year to year but there is a good number of placement students nearby and opportunities are given to meet them plenty. I was lucky enough that we all got on well and had a great social experience so whenever we were in similar locations took every chance to extend our time together.

    5/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Perfectly acceptable. (Cavendish has multiple office locations)

    5/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Pretty good. (Cavendish has multiple office locations)

    4/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • The grad scheme is very social so things such as weekly badminton that they organise are very much open to interns also.

    4/5
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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Mechanical Engineering

North West

September 2017

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