This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Absolutely loads of opportunity to learn a huge variety of skills. There was never a dull moment and always something to do. Placement students do not often get all that much responsibility, but that is definitely not the case here. The people are also very kind and easy to get on with.
Very. Because of the responsibility you will have here you will find yourself actively engaging in business decisions and plans that directly affect live services. You will definitely not be making tea and coffee all day!
Any and every time it was needed. You will be set tasks to complete but if you ever need help or pointing in the right direction, there will always be someone to ask. Provided you're not asking the same questions over and over there will never be a question you can't ask.
Very. Rarely a days goes by when there was little work to do. And if there is a slow day you can easily think of/make your own projects that will improve the business in some way.
Far more than you'd find at most placements, you'll be working on live systems almost from day one. There will be things you learn and pick up that you can teach to your full time colleagues, and you will be given tasks that directly affect the service the company provides.
There are a lot of different technical skills that are picked up at Cognito. You will use a variety of different technologies, some that have been used for years worldwide, some that are just coming into the industry. What you learn is definitely helpful during the rest of your studies and even going on further than that.
The Company
Light hearted, friendly, and enjoyable.
Being thrown in the deep end from the start may be daunting, but it will be something you value and appreciate by the end of placement.
Access to a large range of technologies including cisco, mysql, linux, vmware, and many more. The company also paid for a CCNA qualification.
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
There's no reason not to come back.
The Culture
Most of the teams are quite young or young at heart so conversation is never an issue.
Newbury is expensive but Reading is not far
Close to Reading for a night out.
The company puts on a few events throughout the year, namely go-karting.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Computer Systems Engineering
West Midlands
May 2016