Mechanical Engineering Intern Review

A good placement year overall. The available roles are technical, however no calculations are involved. The technical nature of the role is more practical rather than theory. Meaning less calculations, and more of "How do I fix this"; which I personally enjoyed, but those who prefer theory may want to look elsewhere. The work I did provided me with a very in depth understanding of jet engine functionality, components' architecture, and repair processes. My teamwork and communication skills were also greatly enhanced through the role. Almost all the roles offered involve performing critical duties for the company. Thus, you will be doing real work which will be highly valued. The only downside of this specialization is that it can be difficult to find time to learn more about other aspects of the business, and it is very easy to become too focused on your daily role which can become repetitive over time. The work life balance of most of the roles are excellent. The large intern group provides a really good social experience both in and out of work, which made for an excellent placement year.

Excellent colleagues in my office. Working with them was an absolute pleasure, and it is probably the biggest thing I will miss about my placement year. Overall, people both in and out of my team were amazing. Very easy to talk to, and a real friendly bunch. The only downside is that some teams often don't get credit for their hard work behind the scenes, and this can lead to reduction in employee morale. Something the site should work on.

My team and mentor were amazing. My mentor was always there to help me in my role, and everyone was extremely friendly which meant I had an easy time fitting into the role. My manager was very helpful in supporting me throughout my internship. When I had problems, the manager would really make an effort to make sure they were resolved, and that I was happy in my role. This was extremely appreciated.

This varied greatly from day to day. On some days I would be steaming through loads of work, and the stress from critical problems that need immediate resolution was an enjoyable test of my ability to stay cool under pressure. However, on other days the workload can be extremely low (especially if you're a fast worker), leaving you with not much to do. This meant that overall, the workload was manageable and balanced, but I would have preferred slightly more work to do on the less busier days (e.g. Projects).

On my site, Interns were made to do real tasks there were critical to business function. The level of responsibility was very high from day one. If I didn't deliver, red flags would be raised further down the line and my team would be affected. This helped me to plan and ensure that I always met my deliverable. An excellent level of responsibility.

The soft skills will greatly help me throughout both my professional and personal life. Working in such a big company improved various skills such as teamwork, communication, presentation, organisation and critical analysis. I often had to liase with customers on technical matters, improving my customer service skills. On the technical side, I gained an immense amount of knowledge on the topic at hand (Jet Engines). My life has changed: Whenever I see a Jet Engine on an aircraft, or even a component from a Jet Engine, I immediately know what it does, where it goes and how it gets fitted into the engine. The problem solving skills I also gained from dealing with real world technical problems will of no doubt be useful in the future.

Very friendly atmosphere, and a really great bunch of people to work with. Extremely helpful and supportive throughout my internship; would highly recommend the people in my office. There was the perfect balance of serious work and occasional banter. The only negative thing is due to GE cost cutting, our team wasn't as entitled as you would expect working for one of the biggest multinational conglomerates in the world.

An attempt was made to add more structure to the Internship, in order to provide Interns with the best experience possible. Our year was the first year to have an Intern Curriculum. Whilst this curriculum was an excellent idea, us being the first cohort to try it meant we were the first ones to find any faults in the curriculum. However, our feedback should improve the curriculum for future interns.

Due to cost cutting measures, interns were almost never sent to other sites or on any training courses that would enhance their learning. All training was done either online, or with your mentor. Whilst most roles at our level do not require any external training courses, at the very least, visits to customers and other sites would have greatly enhanced our learning experience.

The role is very stable, and reasonably paid. However, the main issue with such a large company is that climbing up the corporate ladder can be very difficult due to the fixed hierarchy. Thus, it is very easy to reach a certain level and then plateau. Thus if one is looking to be at a managerial position or continuous career development and progression, this can be quite difficult.

Excellent social scene. The intern group is very large (~40) and as a result, there are a lot of socials and fun activities to get involved with throughout the year. Together, we have explored the region, had insane amounts of fun, and visited surreal hidden gems in the UK and beyond. The social life was one of the best parts of this internship.

Cardiff has loads of universities, thus the social life for a young person is great. Compared to most other cities in the UK, Cardiff is really cheap to live in. Rents are quite low, and there's loads of free things to do (e.g. Cardiff Bay and visiting the many parks in Cardiff). The only downside of Wales is the lack of decent public transport. Buses can be really expensive, so unless you enjoy cycling to work, either live near the site or get a car (or carpool).