Student Engineer / Analyst Review

by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)

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

Rating

3.8/5
  • The Role
    4.3
  • The Company
    4.1
  • The Culture
    2.5

    The Role

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

    • A really good experience on the whole, lots of interesting and varied work

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

    • Made to feel very welcome, 'buddy' assigned to help you through the first weeks. Lots of team / group social evenings / lunches. Lots of good office chat.

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

    • Team meeting once a fortnight gives chance to raise any concerns, manager always available for one-to-one chats.

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

    • Management very concious of staff's workload, constantly review and adjust to match time available. Usually busy enough, some quiet patches. Flexitime scheme an excellent perk of the job

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

    • Being sole developer of various software projects meant that I was responsible for delivering them on time and budget

    4/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • 2 new programming languages learnt during the year, really useful for the final years of my degree. Presentation and report writing skills greatly improved too.

    5/5

    The Company

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

    • Fun and light-hearted, but also hard-working, especially when deliverable deadlines approaching

    4/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • Standard induction and training scheme, followed by just jumping straight in to project work. Regular update meetings with supervisor throughout the year

    4/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • I participated in a number of compulsory and optional training courses, including fire safety, first aid, manual handling, software courses

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

    • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen

    International Travel

    Above 25 days holiday

    Working from home
    4/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • Sponsorship scheme for final years at uni with guaranteed graduate interview after graduation

    5/5

    The Culture

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

    • Although I did not participate much, there were regular nights out with other students.

    3/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • Based in Kent, so rent and living costs relatively high. Other company sites would be cheaper to live close too.

    2/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • Three large towns with 15 mins train / car journey, with pubs, clubs, bars etc. London not far away either

    2/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • A number of groups / clubs exist, such as photography, sailing, football etc exist

    4/5
    Report this review

Details

Placement (10 Months+)

Computer Systems Engineering, Engineering, Science

South East

August 2012

View More Reviews