Engineering Intern Review

I was given a wide variety of projects to work on which involved working with different departments of the company. My primary role was involved in research and development, but I was also able to be involved in other projects to become more familiar in different areas. The work was interesting and challenging, and has definitely proven beneficial.

I was fortunate enough to be given a high priority project which included many employees from different areas. At first, I was unaware as to how big the project was, but more and more people got involved and were keen to help along the way. Everyone I worked with was friendly and helpful.

Regularly met with managers to ensure I was working on projects which interested me, and to ensure good progress was being made. They were all keen for me to improve skills in unfamiliar areas which helped boost my confidence. There is many different computer programs available within Siemens which I feel I should have had initial training on. It took a few extra weeks to get into the swing of things, whereas with training, I would've understood a lot quicker.

As I am used to university timetables, I am constantly busy and always have more than 1 project to work on. In most cases, I was busy, even if this involved waiting for computer simulations to run which allowed me to work on other things. I would've liked to have been a little busier but I took that into my own hands by searching for new projects rather than waiting for them to come to me.

The responsibility during my placement was very appreciated as it made my work significant. To see ideas and projects of mine being implemented into the company to save money and time was a big morale boost and something I can definitely be proud of. I was worrying beforehand that I would just be given time wasting work which is handed to everyone, but this was not the case at all.

One of the main reasons I decided to work at Siemens in my placement year was to see which area of engineering stood out to me the most, and which I enjoyed working in. From this, I have based my thesis in the department I enjoyed and have the intention of working in once I graduate. There are some lessons which I found laborious to take part in before which I see in a new light. I have been able to work alongside highly ambitious engineers and understand what skills are required to stand out from the crowd.

The atmosphere most of the time is quiet as people get on with work and are usually listening to music or in online meetings. In some cases, only bad news is heard in the day which isn't the best for morale, but on other days morale is high as a big issue has been cleared.

The placement was set up well as everyone knew which department they were to work in, and the training days helped a lot in specific areas too.

Training which was provided proved to be helpful in many ways. They also offered additional training for those who were not studying engineering and wanted a deeper insight into the companies machinery and background. They encouraged me to work towards professional registration and assigned a mentor to work with me along the way.

Though this area of engineering is not thriving for the future, I have worked alongside some of the most ambitious people I have ever met. Instead of sitting back and giving up, they work hard to improve everything about our products to ensure that they are the best. I know I want to work with these people again and feel my prospects to work in this company are high. There are also opportunities to work in different areas and sites.

I have met some great people on my internship and will be meeting up once this has come to an end. There were always events were we'd meet up, where it was football, bbq, cycling and going to the pub. There were people from all over the country from different backgrounds and it was a great selection of people to be friends with.

There are plenty of student housing around this area, but you need to make sure to choose the right company and get looking early on. There are various intern groups were you can communicate and find out who is sharing housing, etc. The bars have good student deals, gyms are cheap(ish), and there's plenty of good restaurants to eat at, most which are chains and have good online deals.

I'm not much of a going 'out out' person but I know that those who do go out clubbing enjoy it. There are good pubs and bars around which have student deals, pub quizzes and other offers. And there's a good pub which has cheap friday pints and good rock music.

There were a few opportunities but we usually organised activities among ourselves. There are plenty of volunteer activities to take part in, football leagues, cycling clubs, people going to the gym, and even some more technical activities for those who like to get hands on. A lot of activities which interest me were partnered with the IMechE which can also be used on reports.