NPD Engineering Intern Review

Overall I really enjoyed the work placement at Eaton. At the beginning I was questioning the relevance to my course but as time went on I began to understand the links more and saw the bigger picture. In summary, I would say I am happy with how the internship went.

I really did feel like I was a member of the team, not just an intern. I was included in all of the important business broadcasts and updates, and was regularly given feedback by colleagues on pieces of work that often motivated me to do more. Including me in the important meetings also made me feel valued and like I was a proper team member.

The support provided by my programme manager could have been stepped up a bit, but legitimate reasons for this have been explained and I understand that will not be the case moving forward. Support from my line manager has been excellent right from the word go and he's been keen to involve me and develop me over the year.

Due to the nature of the project I was on, I was busy most of the time I was at work. To begin with the workload was relatively slow but as time moved on it was stepped up as I understood more. Soon I was in the position where I had work left over from the day before, so it was nice to be busy a lot of the time!

I think I was given a lot of responsibility and the role I had was quite a crucial one for the project. Proper work was allocated to me and often I was reporting to senior members of the business on the work I had done.

I had several relevant training sessions across the year that focus on the fundamental competencies required in a business. The skills I have developed over the year also are extremely relevant for my degree studies and future career, therefore I think both of these combined will have a great impact on me in the future!

It was a good working atmosphere to be in, everyone was friendly and approachable and no one was undermining. Occasionally people were stressed in the office but that's expected in a working environment!

Very well organised in terms of training days and a structured plan for the year. The review sessions with my line manager went well but the structuring of the programme manager reviews could do with some better planning. The setup of the internship overall however was really good.

We had around 7 or 8 training sessions across the year, so they definitely wanted to invest in us as interns. Managers are constantly looking for you to personally develop, so I think it's fair to say that there aren't limits for developing with Eaton.

Definitely I would consider coming back to the company as they have hinted that they want to bring me back, however I am still unsure whether it is the right company for me, purely due to the products they sell.

Yes there was, people were always up for socialising out of work and we regularly went out for meals and nights out with people from work / fellow interns.

The area was very cheap to live in and socialising was cheap too. Bigger cities were closeby also which obviously have a higher cost but it was nice to have the option of having both cheap and expensive accommodation and socialising.

The nightlife is quite student based with a lot of clubs in the local town. The pubs are really good too, and there's a few quirky bars if you're looking for something a little different.

Yes I was asked to get involved in stuff outside of work on a few occasions, for example 5 a side football with the senior managers and going out for meals with colleagues.