Digital Systems Intern Review

This placement began as an extreme struggle. There was no planned work for me to be involved in and much of the projects that I was promised involvement in fell through. It was only due to the kindness of another Employee, who was not my manager, that I ended up in a better position towards the end of my year. There was no placement plan to follow, however I was given goals at the start of my placement which were completed within weeks and never revisited due to the business and restructuring of my management.

I do not feel I was valued any less by most of my colleagues as placement students carry out much of the same work as permanent employees, however there were certain colleagues who would not listen to my points of view, always sought to prove me wrong or even put their hand up in front of my face when I tried to speak at meetings.

Although my managers were always extremely busy, they always had time for me if I had an issue or I needed to talk about something. I never felt like I was not supported.

During the first 7 months of my placement I was given barely any work. The work I was given were tasks I was able to complete within a very short amount of time, leaving me with nothing to do once they were completed. I often searched for work from colleagues but they had nothing for me to do. Towards the end of my placement I was made page integration lead on a large project which much improved my time at work and made me feel much more valuable.

During the final months of my placement I was given a lot of responsibility for creating important project documentation and managing a developer's work load, however I never felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities because my work manager was always there to support me.

This placement has not given me many skills relevant to my degree, however I have learned a huge amount about working in a large company and a professional environment with peers who have conflicting interests.

The atmosphere in the IT department was generally relaxed, however tensions were sometimes high due to office politics and personal arguments. There were often opportunities to celebrate personal occasions such as birthdays and work anniversaries.

I do not feel my placement was organised at all. There was no clear path for me when I began the placement, work was just given to me as and when somebody had something for me to do. We were given a lot of introduction to the company which never seemed particularly relevant but was interesting to know.

During the first month of the placement, I was introduced to many of the company's processes and software used within the business. This was the extent of my training. Much of the work I wanted to do, I was unable to, as there was no one available to train and develop my skills with me in order for me to be able to do those tasks.

After experiencing the disorganization and lack of organized communication between departments in this company I do not feel inclined to apply for future employment there.

The other placement students lived together during their placement and often had social events.

There was nothing around the area I worked/lived in. If I did not eat in the canteen I had to drive for 5 minutes to a supermarket. There were no cinemas or social locations in this area. Living cost was generally OK.

There was no nightlife. There was one club which I was told to avoid and the pubs were extremely rough and I did not feel safe there.

During the placement we were allowed 5 days to take as volunteer days, which we had to arrange ourselves. There weren't many activities outside of work.