Project Managment Intern Review

I really enjoyed my time with BAE Systems. It was really nice to have other interns there at the same time so we could share our experiences and bond. All members of staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. I was given meaningful work to do and learnt a lot from my experiences. I had plenty of training and always had the opportunity to ask questions. I definitely felt supported.

I definitely felt valued by my colleagues. I was given plenty of work to do on live projects and had a lot of responsibilities. I was expecting to be given 'pretend' work to do, but this wasn't the case. I was given plenty of support and I think this shows that the company values its interns. BAE Systems also invested a fair amount of money in us and this made me feel valued. I even got a lovely leaving do.

During our first week, we were given plenty of training, mainly do to with site health and safety, security and IT. There was then plenty of opportunity to participate in online courses and attend training workshops. Everyone within the business was always more than willing to help and I think this was because they are use to having early careers staff in the business and understood the importance of guiding us.

I had a fairly varied work load. I think this is just to do with the nature of the job (project management). Some days I felt rushed off my feet, but on others, I had to ask for extra bits and bobs to do. During quiet stages, people did there best to keep me busy, even if it meant given me some admin work. However i really didn't mind because i knew that in a day or two, my work load would increase.

I was given a lot more responsibility than I had imagined. I was given a project that had a deliverable that was going to be sent to a customer and covered for a colleague whilst they were on leave. I definitely felt like an actual member of the team and that my input was supporting the business.

I have developed so many transferable skills during my placement. I've become much more confident after being placed in so many new situations. I've learnt how to work with a wide range of people, including much more senior members of staff. This and other skills I have learnt are sure to help me in the future.

The atmosphere in the office was really friendly. It was a huge, long, open planned office, where everyone was encouraged to interact with each other. During work, there was a lot of chat, which definitely made me feel more at home. The office encouraged people to ask others questions and ask others for advice.

Personally, my placement was really well organised. Everything was ready for me when in arrived on my first day, I had several catch up meetings throughout the placement to set goals and monitor my progress and everything felt planned through. However some things that happened outside my team weren't so well organised. I think this was mainly due to it being the first year they had ran the internship in this specific way. Other interns has a much less well organised experience.

The company invested a lot in me. Even before we were offered the job, we had to go through security and medical assessments. This must of cost the business a fair amount of money. The company paid us well and gave us plenty of training. A Summer Intern Conference was also organised and this was also a large investment by the company to motivate us to continue our careers with them

My future employment prospects are very good. At the end of your placement you are reviewed and if you get the top two ratings, you are able to skip most of the graduate scheme application processes and go straight to the assessment centres. The comments are received are really positive and the placement has encouraged me to continue my career with them.

There was a fairly good social scene. I was on a small BAE Systems site where there were roughly 7 other interns. We organised a few meals and stuck together during lunch. We were invited to other socials and due to there being quiet a few apprentices and grads, there were plenty of people our age on the site.

Telford is a 'new town'. Coming from living in a vibrant city, I found it slightly boring, but I didn't really make the most on what it had to offer. It was a fairly cheap place to live. I was able to get a nice room in a house for £340 a month, including all bills. Travel to the site was really good if you had a car and there is a regular bus service that passes right next to the entrance.

The nightlife was pretty much no existent. We did go on one night out in Shrewsbury which was surprisingly nice! In Telford there are quiet a few pubs and bars, a couple of 'nightclubs' but nothing you would want to go out of your way to visit. I think i could of made more of an effort to find a good pub.

We were invited on a whole site social which was really fun and gave us the opportunity to talk about stuff other than work. There was a site open and several leaving meals which were really nice. As i have said, the staff are all really friendly and are really good at including the interns in any events they are organising.