Summer Engineering Intern Review

A valuable insight into work in a large company in a friendly working environment. I really enjoyed all of it as it was so varied and I was able to experience several different career options.

There was no integration period in terms of this, my opinion was valued straight away and I was encouraged to input anything I could think of.

My supervisor was easy to contact and the open door policy at Intel meant that it was easy to raise any concerns or problems I had.

I never felt overworked but at times there were periods when I was struggling to find things to do.

I was given access to confidential data and pretty much anything else I required to complete my project.

It will help me hugely in terms of career decisions and expanding my skill set.

Everyone was very friendly and there was always someone to talk to. Although the offices are cubicled, the walls are fairly low so it is easy to have a chat with anyone in the office, and everybody was friendly and approachable.

It took no time at all; a couple of phone calls later and my contract had arrived and I was in! My manager was very prompt in getting everything sorted out so all I had to do was sign at the bottom of the contract and turn up on my first day. Furthermore, all of my access and ID badge had been previously organised and I just picked up my badge from reception on the first day.

I spent a good chunk of my time training (probably 1 week out of 6) which gave me everything I needed to complete my project. There was the obligatory 'common sense' training i.e. fire drills, desk ergonomics etc but the majority of the training I received was directly linked to the software I would be using.

I'd like to think I could come back but nothing in particular was mentioned. The fact that my internship was only 6 weeks compared to the majority of the other interns doing a year long placement probably wouldn't help my chances either, as they would be looked upon more favorably due to more experience within the company.

Given the short length of my placement, I didn't get to do much but there was a good social scene and nights out every week. There are probably about 60 interns working in the Swindon offices so there was always something going on.

I lived with my parents as I am from the area so that was negligible. However, Swindon is relatively reasonable given its location on the M4 corridor, and the office is close to some good areas of the town. Socialising is also fairly cheap compared to larger cities.

Not bad, Swindon is alright on a Thursday - the intern night out. However, the choice is fairly limited with only a couple of clubs. However, there are loads of pubs in the town centre and a few within a 10 minute walk of the office.

I was constantly receiving emails inviting me to theater, comedy, music, golf days etc so there was plenty of stuff going on outside of work.