Production Steering Intern Review

I definitely enjoyed my placement, the work was interesting, my boss was nice, lunch times were relaxing and there was good food in the canteen. The after-work and weekend social activities were enjoyable and I met many new people. Overall it was a very good experience and I definitely reccomend it to anyone looking for work experience.

My colleagues were really supportive and always gave me their time to ensure I learned as much as I could as quickly as possible. They were a pleasure to work with and I look forward to potentially working with them in the future. I had an interesting and diverse set of colleagues which I feel definitely contributed to my enjoyment.

I was given a lot of support and guidance by my managers who I always felt had my best interests in mind, I definitely felt like they were interested in my development and learned a lot in terms of how to guide interns in my future career. My supervisor always took time to explain things thoroughly which meant I always felt like I was always producing work to my full potential.

Busy enough to make the job interesting but not so busy that I felt stressed or under too much pressure. My boss was good at giving me work and ensuring I have the time and resources to complete it. I would generally have different projects to work on which meant I always had something to do however the deadlines were flexible and took into account the speed at which I wanted to work.

I was given a lot of responsiblility because I took on work which involved producing an important production report for senior managers whereby I was accountable for the information this report contained. I felt this responsability meant I took greater care with my work and paid great attention to detail to ensure I never made a mistake. This responsability meant I regularly saw senior managers which was an interesting part of my internship.

It won't assist me in my degree because the software I use here is very specific to BMW, apart from VBA which is widely used in the working world, however not so much in Mechanical Engineering. The time management and attention to detail skills I picked up will definitely help in University and into my career and if I was to return to BMW after I graduate the skills I developped definitely will be used.

The atmosphere was often very relaxed and friendly, sometimes when my colleagues were under pressure to deliver the atmosphere would change, however most of the time it was relaxed. It is definitely a good atmosphere to work in because there are few distractions and it allows you to focus on your work and deliver good quality projects. My colleagues are very happy with their jobs which contributes to the atmosphere.

Future employment is appealing at BMW because of the employee benefits and competitive salary, there aren't many other jobs which allow you to drive a luxury car and travel the world at such a young age. Getting to know the organisation while here on an internship also makes it more appealing because I know that integrating would be easy and I feel I already know and understand the organisation very well.

Very good social scene, we meet up for lunch every day in the canteen, meet in the pub every thursday and there are always parties on the weekend. There are also often sports activities organised including football on a Tuesday and laser tag. The social scene is good because there are so many interns (approx 60) who have travelled often from other countries to live and work in Oxford, so they are generally interested in social activities.

The cost of living in Oxford is quite high, rent can be anywhere from £500-£800 per week depending on where you live, it's often easier to find accomodation if you are here for a year because you can live with local university students but those here for shorter periods of time often find themselves paying conderably more rent. The nightlife on weekends is quite expensive and Oxford is very touristy therefore most things are more expensive here.

The nightlife is good in Oxford, generally mid week is better because of the strong student community during term time and the tourists during the summer. However because we work we often go out on weekends which is a lot more expensive. There is a good selection of bars and clubs in Oxford so there's a lot to pick from and there is something for everyone's taste. Night transport is also good so getting home after a night out is simple and affordable.