Student Transmission Engineer Review

I very much enjoyed my year in industry. Throughout the year I was given a range of tasks related to the role I applied for, which allowed me to experience a broad spectrum of learning experiences. In addition to this none of the jobs I was given were 'filler tasks', it was all valued and needed work.

The team I worked with were very welcoming from day one. They were keen to ensure that I settled in as smoothly as possible and were also very encouraging. The tasks I was given were often directly related to their projects, and so they were always happy to answer questions.

No question went unanswered whilst working. On top of this the answers almost always went above and beyond what was needed, often giving me context around the subject area as well as explaining beyond the question which allowed me to learn very fast and often complete my task to a level I was proud of.

For the majority of the placement the work balance was very good, I would usually have a number of different projects on the go, and so it was down to me to balance my time effectively. It was rare for there to be a day where there was either too little or too much work, so when it did happen it was not a problem.

In the first couple of months I was organising testing with a very big customer. This should have been a reason for concern being so new to the role, but my manager's confidence in me allowed me to feel confident in my ability and complete the work effectively. This level of responsibility was common throughout the placement.

I was surprised how many skills that I have learnt on my degree fed into this role, and so this year will have not only been a year of great experiences, but also it is a year of learning that I can directly apply in my final year as well as future roles.

The atmosphere in the office struck a healthy balance between working hard and having a laugh. It is a very professional setting, and so it was a pleasant surprise to learn that not everyone sits in silence working all day, people are very chatty and friendly which makes for a more productive work environment.

There is a dedicated team for the interns at Eaton; this means that even though the interns are spread all over the UK, they all meet up at various points throughout the year to participate in training courses and socialise. As well as this, the teams that the intern joins aim to have a rough work plan for the year in place to ensure we are kept busy with valuable work.

There were dedicated training days set up for the all the interns at least once a month, this allowed all the interns to travel to different sites, to learn about different areas of the business whilst also receiving valuable core skills training.

My particular team is very small and are not looking to hire, but I spoken to managers in other areas of the business who have offered for me to visit the site and see if I would be interested in working within a different department. Overall job prospects as a whole seem plentiful due to the size of the business.

My particular office is relatively small, so on a day to day basis the social scene is not as lively, but as previously mentioned there are many opportunities where all the interns from all over the UK come together and as a result I have made many good friends throughout the year.

Having come to Manchester from near the London, the prices are definitely cheaper, but it is still a city and so it is definitely more expensive than living in a town close by.

Living a short bus journey from Manchester city meant that I had access to what feels like an endless list of great places to go out and see.

As it is based near a city I imagine there are opportunities to get involved in almost anything one could be interested in.