Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement at LifeScan. It was a very rewarding job and I learnt a lot from the experience. The project I was allocated was very interesting and felt like it was genuinely useful and beneficial for the company to complete. I know that the work I completed was continued and developed after I left.

My colleagues were fantastic at making me feel like a regular part of the team rather than just an intern. I was included and well integrated into the working team. I was able to participate in team meetings and my colleagues were genuinely interested to hear how I was getting on with my project.

My managers were incredibly supportive and encouraging. They knew the project I was given was challenging so they gave me all the support and advice I needed but still allowed me to work independently with my own initiative. They were approachable and very good at checking I was managing ok with my work.

Relatively busy as I had many different aspects to the project that I could work on. On some days I could have done with some work to complete though. Unfortunately a lot of the work I was doing was dependant on a colleague completing some other work which was substantially delayed.

A good amount of responsibility was given as I was given ownership of a project. I was in charge of the direction the project was going in and responsible for it myself.

The skills developed at LifeScan were very useful in my continuing studies at university. The placement gave me a good understanding of engineering in a large company.

The general atmosphere in the office was great! It was a very productive environment but not too quiet. There was a good community of people in the office so everyone was in good spirits and got on very well. Everyone went to the canteen for lunch together in order to socialise for a bit.

The organisation of the placement was superb! I never had any issues throughout my time with the company and had no troubles. Graduate buddies were also allocated to each intern in order to help with any questions on the placement, the company, the graduate scheme or any other concerns. There were sessions arranged at the end of placement to help us with future applications and cvs which was really useful. It felt like a well-thought out scheme rather than just the placement itself.

The company has lots of initiatives to encourage employees to learn and develop within the company. I was also lucky enough to go abroad with the company to attend a supplier meeting to do with the project I was given. It was a great experience to go to this meeting and to learn about the relationships with companies and their suppliers.

There are many opportunities to go back to Johnson & Johnson as a graduate. There are many companies that are part of Johnson & Johnson all over the world so there are no shortages of options of companies you could go back to. We were told that having worked with LifeScan for a summer would stand us in a very good place for getting a position on the graduate scheme.

There was a good social scene amongst other interns and a couple of us kept in touch after leaving the company.

I lived at home during my time on the placement so I am not too sure of how expensive an area it is to live in. The cost of socialising is fairly cheap and as far as I'm aware the cost of living is not too expensive. Getting accommodation for just the summer may be tricky for students who aren't from the area already though.

I didn't really take advantage of the nightlife while on this placement.

There were some opportunities to get involved with activities out of work but I didn't really take advantages of these during my time with LifeScan.