Engineering Intern Review

The internship was very good from the first few days with everyone making me feel welcome and part of the team. The work was interesting and challenged me in a good way, I have gained many skills and developed others which will help greatly for the future.

My colleagues all made me feel very welcome at the start and introduced me to their work. I was able to help them after a few weeks and took on some of their work making me feel very valued. This continued throughout the year and took on work from all of the team.

My team leader was very good! He always put me in a position to learn and introduced me to a lot of different tasks that engineers within the company face. My team leader was always available to talk and helped me with many work problems throughout the year.

The workload varied day-to-day and at times there was nothing to do, which I filled with learning. Other times I would have multiple tasks to complete which I could manage well. When i had settled in other team members would often give me small tasks to do which kept my busy.

I was involved with tasks and projects that had a real effect in the company. This was from the first month and I carried out many tasks and lead a larger project. I also completed some daily and weekly tasks that were needed by other members of my team to complete further tasks for the day or week.

Now back to my studies, the skills gained from placement year have helped a lot. My thought processes have changed and I can face engineering problems a lot better now. All of my skills have improved and developed further which will help in my final two years of university and future jobs.

My office was open plan leading to another engineering department with small divides between the desks meaning communication with others was very easy. The two manager's offices often had the doors open if you wanted to talk. All of this lead to a good atmosphere in the office and generally everyone was very happy.

Overall the placement was good but did lack some structure. At times I was trying to create work as there was nothing else to do but at other times I had multiple tasks and projects to complete. With some small daily and weekly tasks there was always something to do but as I suggested to management, there should be an organised structure of things for the intern to complete.

My team lead always encouraged me to complete training courses that were available online through the company. I completed many modules on six sigma, manufacturing methods/processes, and metal cutting technology. As well as this I was able to gain some machining experience through the on-site training school on the lathe and mill.

On completion of my placement I felt that I had gave a positive impression of myself and that my chances of future employment are high. Due to the oil industry slump during my placement year many employees were fired but the EMS centres were doing well. The graduate opportunities are very appealing and I would definitely consider going back.

My fellow placement students were all from the same university and we got on very well, usually eating lunch together. We met up outside work and still talk to each other after the placement year. During the year some of the colleagues organised days out which I attended. This included paintball and go-karting which were very fun and we got to talk outside of work hours.

The centre was not far out of Belfast where I have lived during my studies and continued to live during placement year. Compared to the cost of living in the UK, Belfast is cheaper with reasonable rent prices. Socialising in Belfast has many options to suit all as it is the capital city, with many options of travel in and out.

The nightlife in Belfast has many options with many different bars and nightclubs spread out across the city. The cost can vary but general pub prices apply and the nightclubs hold many different nights with drink promos. The people of Belfast are friendly and good fun on a night out. Also there are a lot of taxis available for travel after.

As mentioned, there were a few days out planned by members from every department. This included a group outing to paint balling then another day out go-karting. Some of the guys also played football every week which you could join easily. A lot of the younger employees would often get lunch on Friday and go out for drinks.