Finance intern for Electric Power Division Review

Fully enjoyed the opportunities given to me through the placement, to be able to fully experience a working environment and to give me better insight into what a future career could be like. It has been challenging at times but a great overall learning experiences, with lots of opportunities to learn new process' and gain more experience in the ones you've already used.

I felt like I was completely welcomed into the Caterpillar family. It has shown me how much you need to have the work balance lifestyle and this is definitely demonstrated by the Caterpillar team. Nothing is too difficult to give someone else a hand with their work, and they have a great atmosphere to work in.

I was given a lot of support but also given time of independence. There were always people there to ask questions too and help if you just couldn't understand the work and no question was too silly. One time I tried to figure something out and just couldn't get my head round it, I showed it to my boss and we set up a meeting to put our heads together on it and we got it sorted a lot quicker.

Depending really on the week in the month as some were a lot busier than others. I always had stuff to get on with but when month end came around there was a lot to do and balance and this is the time when you need to learn to prioritise tasks. There were days that sometimes weren't as busy but these were a good time to catch up on work that came through during month end time.

It actually surprised me by how much responsibility that I was given during my time here. I thought that I would be given tasks that others just didn't really want to do but this was the complete opposite. I was trained up and expected to work just as any other employee which was sometimes stressful but an amazing learning experience and amazing that they put the trust in my to believe I could do the tasks.

I thought at the beginning of my placement that I had quite good knowledge within excel but this year showed me how much I still had to learn and its something I could only have learnt with being thrown into the situations were I had to figure it out. Something that took me maybe 15 minutes at the start , I can now fly through in 5 and it doesn't even phase me.

The atmosphere in the office was class and a lot different than I thought it would be. I thought that working in an office would be boring and a bit lonely with everyone just staring at computers all day but in Caterpillar this is not the case. There is a real friendly feel to the place and time and effort is put into investing in friendships and this made going to work so much more enjoyable.

At the start of the placement, I'd say it wasn't as well organised at the start but this was partly down to it being summer time and the fact that we were the first placement students that they had had so they weren't sure what we were going to be capable off but a month in and the work was flying our way so it just took a bit of time to adjust.

There were a lot of training courses that I could go on to improve my knowledge in specific areas and there was also required learning as learning, increasing your knowledge and maintaining knowledge in areas is something they really strive for. I feel even when you didn't know how to do something I would have even goggled it so I could increase my own knowledge and so I would know what to do the next time.

They are promising and if I had the opportunity to come back and work here again I would grab it with both hands.

Well there was only one other placement student but it wasn't a them and us situation but more that we all socialised together, from office parties to lunches out, group team building events and afternoon tea with the ladies, there were a lot of chances to hang out with the ones from the office.

It was pretty reasonable round Belfast.

Not really applicable

Yes there were plenty, we socialised a lot in here which made it easier to get back to work, team building events, lunches, volunteer work. So many chances to do things and it shocked me that people actually wanted to socialise together outside work which shows how great the people are.