Quality Engineering Intern Review

Overall the experience was a useful and interesting one, my mentor and supervisor were very helpful, and the opportunity to do short day placements with other business areas was very much appreciated, to give me a wider overview of the business as a whole. However, the pace of the work I was assigned was inconsistent, busy some days, with nothing to do on others.

I did feel valued by my colleagues, they often sought my insight as a pair of fresh eyes at the company, and were always willing to devote time to any issues or queries that I had. I enjoyed being treated like a full-time employee, there was no patronising or hand-holding.

Support in terms of asking questions of my supervisor and mentor was always readily available. There was also more structured guidance provided, in terms of a placement review with my supervisor: we agreed objectives together, and near the end of the placement my performance was appraised, and helpful feedback given

The supervisors of many of my other colleagues on internships had prepared projects for their interns so that they had a clear and suitable task from day one. This was not the case for me; my main project was assigned three weeks in, and even then it was not as consistent in terms of workload as I had hoped. The majority of the work involved working with colleagues in other areas of the business, all of whom had busy schedules. This meant there were long periods in which I had very little to do, broken up by the occasional meeting.

I was given a good amount of responsibility during my placement: I was able to make decisions independently, and I felt comfortable doing so. If I ever needed advice it was easily accessible, but there was no micro-managing or checking of my work, which helped increase my sense of worth to the company.

The most useful thing I gained from the placement was the knowledge and understanding of how several of the concepts I had learned about at university are applied in the automotive engineering industry. I also had the opportunity to go on a few official training courses, all of which were very informative, and which I will make use of during the remainder of my degree course.

The atmosphere in the office was very good: everyone was friendly and willing to chat, and were all like-minded people, very easy to get along with. Also appreciated was the fact that you weren't tied to your desk nine till five: my colleagues and I took the occasional coffee break together.

The internship was fairly well organised: the induction day, intern share fair day, online introductory courses, and proper official performance review were all very useful, and smoothly run. However, I get the sense that my supervisor had not been asked before my arrival to prepare a project for me, as such I had to wait till the end of my third week out of twelve to get stuck in to my project.

There was a wealth of online courses available, several of which I took. These courses were informative and useful for my work. I also took part in three more extensive courses, taught by my colleagues in a seminar format, each course over two days. These very useful, both in terms of gaining knowledge, and in terms of the chance to network.

Further employment with Jaguar Land Rover is an appealing prospect: the support given to graduate hires, and the opportunities to progress within the business are both very good. The social aspect is also appealing: Jaguar Land Rover hire a large number of graduates, and there is an established social network for graduates.

The social scene amongst my fellow interns was excellent: both in the workplace, through meeting up for lunch each day, and outside it. The majority of interns were all staying in the same university halls of residence, which led to a great social atmosphere, including nights out, five a side football, and day trips.

A discount was offered on our accommodation due to a partnership with the accommodation company and Jaguar Land Rover. This helped reduce the cost of living. Other than this, prices in Coventry seemed fairly average when compared to the rest of the country: no bars or restaurants were excessively expensive.

There were only two nightlife venues I visited in my twelve weeks at Coventry: one bar, and one club. Whilst both venues were good fun, helped by the bustling social atmosphere amongst the interns, I can easily see myself becoming quickly bored if I had to live in Coventry for longer than twelve weeks.

The graduate network opened its events for undergraduates whilst I was with the company. This meant I was able to get involved with a few activities, such as rounders. Also, Jaguar Land Rover offers an Employee Learning Scheme, which offers a wide range of activities. Through this scheme, I went on an excellent classic car driving experience day.