This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Fantastic year, a brilliant insight into F1 doing real, useful work for the team! Facilities were amazing and the work is fantastic fun. The days are long and hard but incredibly rewarding.
Definitely do not get treated like a passing thought, I felt very much integrated into the team and given responsibility in my tasks equal to other team members. Within the small teams at Mercedes, everyone is well aware of what your strengths are, and will come to you when your experience is needed.
Team leaders are understandably hard to get a free moment with, but when available provided fantastic guidance and really wanted to help young engineers develop.
Project times are short, which on their own are achievable, but delays or extra work to support previous projects/new issues unexpectedly very quickly piles on the workload and pressure, so can sometimes feel overbearing. It is rare to have a slow day and common to have a packed one, but anyone aspiring to work in this kind of motorsport should be prepared for that kind of work.
Placement students here don't make the tea. In my 12 months across 2 departments, I was heavily involved in the mapping of this year's race engine, writing a suite of tools used by the whole team to do so, as well as design work for large projects including complete development piston designs! Across every department the interns were given large projects of their own. Guidance is always available from the team, but nobody is spoon-feeding information or holding your hand through the process.
The learning curve is immense, as is the subject matter. In my first department, I learned more Matlab in the first few weeks than I had from 2 years of University. I learned everything I could about engine mapping and problem investigations, which is a huge part of my future career and a massive wealth of design knowledge. I had fantastic CATIA training, as well as professional GD&T training which will both be invaluable at any engineering company. The minds around you in this company are all at the top of their game and have so many years of experience in all areas to share. 1 year isn't enough to know everything ever, but the enormous foundation of knowledge available from Mercedes, this fast paced and tightly knit is a superb place to start.
The Company
The vast majority of the business are very friendly and share in the fun and lightheartedness when the time arises. As long as the work isn't compromised people are always happy to have a joke.
Very much so, anything relevant to the job role is invested in. Training courses were done alongside full time staff and a variety of tasks were provided to ensure a broad level of competence and experience in all areas related to the job.
Subsidised Canteen
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Healthcare/Dental
There is a fantastic graduate scheme and fulltime roles that I would love to join in with. For me the graduate scheme is too broad, as I have a clear idea of what I would like to do, but the experience gained from different areas of the business is very valuable in any role.
The Culture
Absolutely! At the start of the year we would regularly have intern nights out, and throughout the year a regular interns karting session. The interns are tightly knit and spread throughout the business. I also had team meals in both departments, which were fantastic.
Northampton is not a huge city. There's a few great places to go, two lovely cinemas and a few choice clubs. There's not an amazing wealth of incredible venues at the doorstep, but there's a lovely reservoir for cycling around, and a few large shopping complexes around the city to meet up with plenty inside.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Automotive Engineering, Computer Science, Engineering, Material & Mineral Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
East Midlands
September 2015