Systems Engineering Intern Review

Work at GE Aviation was very interesting. If you have a keen interest in aviation, then you will enjoy your time. The projects are amazing, working with big customers on very big contracts. You defiantly get a sense of great achievement when you go on holiday and know that your work is on that aircraft.

One thing that I noticed from day one, was that at GE you are not treated as an intern. From the beginning, you are treated and integrated into the team like a permanent employee. You get a feeling that you are valued and trusted as you are given work that matters and makes a big difference to the project.

When joining a project you are always assigned to someone as a focal. This helps you to understand your new role and have someone to ask questions to when needed. In my last rotation, I was given a two-week handover period to learn the job and meet everyone I will be working with. You also get fortnightly meetings with your manager to check your progress.

There have been many ups and downs in terms of workload. There have been periods for me when the workload is normal, this is enough to keep you busy throughout the day. There have also been very busy periods near project deadlines where I have committed a lot of my time to work to meet deadlines. There are also a lot of volunteering activities you can get involved with.

As an intern, I have been levels of responsibility I did not expect. I have had the opportunity to work with senior members of staff to deliver critical items for the project. If you show that you are willing and able to take on responsibility, you will be given it. This gives you a chance to challenge and understand your limits.

Working at GE has given me many transferable skills. Many of which will help with further work and studying. Many skills include communication, presenting, time management and team working. The above-mentioned skills are gained from the working environment. They can be easily transferred to studying, as you can always ensure you meet deadlines, work effectively in teams and be able to communicate to the right people when needed.

The atmosphere is very busy. You will never be bored, there is a lot hustle and bustle. Although this keeps work interesting, for me it was an adjustment. At university, I was used to finding quiet places to study for me to concentrate, however in the office this is not always possible. I soon learnt to be able to concentrate in this environment.

The work placement was organised quite well. This was largely due to my manager who was assigned a few interns this year. He took it upon himself to always ensure we are ok with our rotations, done through regular catch up meetings. We were also assigned a special intern project for us to conduct which proved to be fun and interesting.

In terms of personal training for interns there is not too much when compared with apprentices and graduates on site. It is very much left to you to ask your manager for training and sign up for events. This is different to the graduate scheme where it is supplied to them. This is not to say there isn’t any training available, you just have to be pro-active about it.

Very good, there are many schemes to sign up to for graduates. There is a scheme to stay on site and due to the size of GE there are many opportunities for other schemes. There is also a route to be employed as permanent staff without the need to go on a gradate scheme.

At my site there were a lot of employees on young career schemes. This includes interns, apprentices and graduates. All the young employees get to know each other through work, social events or from volunteering activities. This means that you can make a lot of friends in a similar age group.

Living and socialising in this area proved to be expensive when compared to university. The town is not very geared towards young people or students, so bars and clubs tend to be a bit more expensive. Living costs can be expensive too depending on the quality and type of accommodation you opt for.

As previously mentioned, the town is not very geared towards young people or students. There are not many nightclubs in the local area and they tend to be expensive. The clubs are also very small when compared to major cities. However due to the social side of working with young people, you can still have a lot of fun.

GE pride themselves on the extra-curricular and volunteering activities they run. Most of the volunteering activities are run by the young careers employees. This includes going to local air shows to promote the company, or even promoting the company and engineering to school students. I personally had a great time volunteering for such activities.