Engineering intern Review

The overall experience I got from the placement was very positive. It's a true Project Engineering role, and I was given my own major project (alongside a few other bits and bobs) to lead (and all the responsibility that comes with it). The work environment was healthy and relaxed, which made it very enjoyable. Great support from mentor, line manager, buddy and collegues.

I always felt valued by everyone I worked with, people were open and friendly but also very busy. It was hard at times to get their time and attention when I needed help or to make progress on my project, but my line manager offered great support and advice for strategies to overcome this problem as undoubtably some of it was due to my personality. Over the course of the internship this situation improved as I understood the company's ethos and way of working better and adapted to it. This offered a great chance for personal development that was strongly encouraged and supported. Having said that, they were certain people I could always pop over to have a chat with.

Support and guidance were exceptional. I had a strong support system of a line manager, project mentor and buddy. My line manager strongly focused on personal development and encouraged me to reflect on an ongoing basis. I was thus able to make noticable progress on a personal level as I focused on different areas. My project mentor was always able to add value to aspects of my project and was always willing to discuss/add value to parts of the project and help out with any technical questions I had and draw on his wealth of experience which I lacked. Other senior members of the team were also very approachable and open to discussion and questions.

This was largely up to me as I was given my own project to manage. Due to the nature of my project, and due to the fact I required input from a variety of different teams and people, I was often delayed by the busy and schedules of the people I needed to speak to. This improved over the course as I learned how to cope better as explained above.

I was given complete responsibility for my own project, but I did have a mentor who oversaw it. A lot of it is up to you, so you can take as much or as little responsibility as you like but will be encouraged to take the lead. There is always room for more and although I did not have a choice of my project, I could pick up things alongside it, the volume of who he as completely up to me.

While I barely used any technical knowledge I have gained during my studies, this placement has helped me tremendously to learn about the work of a project engineer. It will help me with my design project next year, as I now have valuable practible experience in leading and being involved in an industrial engineering project. It has also shown me whether I should consider this career path for my future.

General atmosphere was very relaxed. The site I was based at had two main parts, the factory and the office. I had complete freedom to move between the two upon completing some training, which was great as it meant I could work independently. From intern to site director, everyone sat in the same open plan office, sharing break out areas/coffee machines etc. People were always approachable, I could just walk up to their desk. The operators in the factory were even more relaxed, many of them with a wealth of experience and knowledge from many years working there. Again, just walking up to them and starting a conversation was very easy.

My memories of the assessment say aren't too fond, due to bad organisation and scheduling. However, the organiser apologised and asked for feedback. The internship started with a 3 day induction together will all interns and IP students for that year. We were taken to three different sites across the country and introduced to all main segments (choc, petcare, wrigley) and functions (marketing, sales, finance, engineering etc). It was great to get to know these people first and also learn about the company. During the internship, everything ran smoothly, we even had a team bonding day out.

While the company didn't invest in any formal training for me (other than two day safety training at the start), everyone was concerned for my personal development and a number of people offered their regular time to address this. I received feedback from the interview/assessment day and based on this as well as self evaluation I identified two areas from the Mars leadership framework. I had weekly meetings with my line manager to evaluate my progress with respect to these and set goals for the next few weeks.

While I didn't apply for the graduate job directly after my internship (since I have two more years at university), I was given the opportunity to do so next year. I will definitely consider this option. I was given access to lots of information about all the grad programs on offer so I can choose the best one for me when the time comes.

The social scene was ok. While I got on very well with fellow interns and grads, no socials were organised by Mars, and there was no budget available for this. The exception for this was the annual team day out, which was great fun. Any other socials had to be organised independently. The team is very diverse with many people at different stages of their lives so drinks on a Friday after work aren't a thing for example. Everyone had lunch together most days though.

While Slough leaves something to be desired, I actually stayed in London. The 3.5 hour daily return commute wasn't fun. Slough is not very expensive in comparison but also not attractive. Nearby Windsor is much better, but most young employees live around Ealing which seems to be a good compromise. Most employees are scattered somewhere around Slough.

Not much, again Windsor has some clubs but otherwise a trip to London is required.

Not really. I think there was a football league but that's it.