Engineering Intern Review

I found my 1 year placement to be incredibly enjoyable and challenging. I was given the opportunity to work on real world engineering and was contributing towards important company projects and was given plenty of important and enjoyable tasks and projects over the year. This level of responsibility made me feel like a real part of the company which I enjoyed greatly.

I felt valued by my colleagues and at no point did I ever feel like I was treated lesser than a full fledged company employee. I was given training to carry out tasks like the rest of my colleagues and as such was treated equally. There was a great focus on improvement and a great positive can-do attitude that they encourage and instil in one another and that was certainly passed on to me.

I was given plenty of support, guidance and training throughout my placement. Managers and supervisors are always willing to explain tasks and provide assistance and at no point did I feel afraid of asking for more support. The friendly and open nature of the company meant that I could ask others outside of my department or working site for support and they would always endeavour to help or point me in the right direction.

I was kept busy with a list of projects to work on throughout my placement. This was good to keep me going and occupied but there were times in between where there was no work or projects to do but this was maybe half a day at a time and was a welcome relief.

I was given a lot of responsibility and towards the half way point was given the same responsibility as a full fledged employee. After completing the appropriate training and courses my tasks began to increase in complexity, value to the company and therefore responsibility. By proving myself on less important projects I was able to earn the right to work on important projects and gain responsibility.

The skills gained by working in industry will be invaluable as I return to university. I will be able to apply the new skills and training to my projects and study sessions. This will help me be more efficient and with a new can do attitude I wont be put off by tasks or challenges that are particularly difficult.

The atmosphere is always friendly and open. I was never afraid to ask any member of the team for support, guidance or advice. There are always cakes or treats around the office for a birthday or celebration which everyone is welcome to. My team was very social and we frequently went for trips to the pub or to the restaurant after work. However, this social aspect is not always true in all times but members are always friendly and like having a casual chat.

The placement was organised well with clear milestones and guidelines. We knew when we would be switching departments and were given some freedom with regards to which teams we could join. Joining the company and leaving arrangements were organised well and I was always informed about the structure of my placement.

I feel the company has invested in me a great deal. There was always training opportunities and we were actively encouraged to pursue training regardless of the cost. The company has also taught me well with regards to working practice and I have really developed in this regard, especially with regards to meeting and email etiquette.

Future employment prospects are broad with the company with varying options. Numerous graduate and intern opportunities are made aware to you during the placement and upon completion an offer, depending on your circumstances, will be made if you perform well. The graduate opportunities are lucrative and a great way to continue in the company and develop further as plenty of training is also provided in the graduate schemes.

There are many social events and opportunities. These can be within work teams with pub crawls or dining out. There is also a large group open to all graduates, interns and apprentices. Here you make many friends and go on weekly social events and regularly visit the pubs, clubs and bars in town.

The cost of living around my company was rather expensive with higher than average rental prices due to demand from other locals and students. Due to the same factors other prices such as drinks and food on nights out is also a bit higher than average. These prices were never exorbitantly high and the company pays an appropriate salary to cover this.

The nightlife was very good with many students from the two city universities being a major factor. There are plenty of pubs, clubs and bars with something to everyone's taste. The only negative is that many of theses clubs, bars and pubs are often full and have expensive drinks and entrance fees.

There were many sports clubs and other social activities outside of work. These were a mixture of independent clubs or company founded/run clubs that many members of the company joined. These range from football, cricket and rugby up to rock climbing, STEM outreach and go karting. The only negative is that many of these clubs are outside of the city so you would have to travel to get there.