Manufacturing Engineer Review

It was a highly rewarding year, given plenty of responsibility on meaningful tasks as part of an excellent team. The value of the tasks I was completing was obvious to company, however as with any job there was also a touch of day-to-day monotony.

I was fortunate to work in a very involving team, who openly expressed how I was helping and willing to aid me in anything I was unsure of. My value to the company was made more obvious with a role offer at the end of the placement.

While predominantly given a task and then left to my own devices, help and support was always there when needed. However, due to the busy nature of the team it often felt a little awkward asking, and it also required me to develop the knowledge on who was best to ask.

While being a valued member of the team was very comforting particularly as this meant they were happy to assign me tasks, this had the negative result receiving tasks from a large number of people, making prioritising and achieving deadlines occasionally very difficult.

A lot of responsibility, I was not treated as an intern. This meant I had the freedom to choose my own tasks and projects and held accountable for them at the end. I felt a trusted member of the team and did not have to deal with being micro-managed.

On the job experience naturally gave relevant skills' for my degree. Most notably time management and task prioritisation as I was held accountable for a number of tasks. More specifically for Engineering I gained a number of practical skills while gaining a greater understanding of design for manufacture, engineering drawing and systems. An Eaton placement is highly challenging, however very rewarding with a high potential for learning.

The office was a productive, work-focussed environment, however everyone was engaging and friendly. It was a pleasant environment with all functions dispersed together, this removed any intense feeling and encouraged all members of staff to get to know each other.

The Eaton Intern Programme is very well organised, with a lot of care and attention payed to Intern specific training and projects. However, organisation was not a strong point of the internship of my site by nature of it having a small but very busy team.

There are unlimited personal development opportunities at Eaton for those that they believe are worthy, both within the site and the wider Eaton framework. The Intern Programme is another source of investment, that rewards those who are prepared to commit most fully to it.

For those with plans to work in a multi-national corporation, and to be a worldwide leader Eaton is an ideal place, as it is clear the willingness to invest in new mobile talent, with jobs in all sectors imaginable. On a personal note I was fortunate to receive a job offer although unsure as of yet if it is for me.

There was a good social scene among placement students, unfortunately being the only one at my specific site meant that I was not able to join in, often leaving me feeling isolated at intern events. Fortunately there was a very inclusive group at my site who willing invited me along to their events.

I did not live near work, instead choosing to commute from University to the plant. However, through events held at Redditch it is clearly a very affordable place to live and having a decent life on the intern wage would not be a problem

Redditch itself has an acceptable selection of bars and clubs, however it is only a short train ride into Birmingham where there is an unlimited choice for nightlife entertainment to suit all tastes.

Out of work activities were very limited for the most part of the placement, however a new engagement committee was introduced towards the end. This immediately increased the opportunities and therefore I would expect a considerable improvement for future placements.