Mechanical design engineer Review

It was a really enjoyable placement as I was able to put what I had learnt at uni into practice. I was given real projects and the work I did made a real impact. I think this made the internship more enjoyable as you know that what you are doing will make a difference- it is really satisfying to see your designs come to life!

I was given real tasks and had real responsibilities that made me feel valued by my colleagues- I was given support when I needed it but was also able to solve my own problems. Even though it is a massive company, I was able to make strong connections with the people I worked with day-to-day. The company really encourages a team feeling, I didn't feel like an intern or an outsider as I was treated the same as everyone else in the team

At the beginning, I had a lot of support as I was in a technical role and a lot of the software/processes were new to me. If I needed help then it was easy to ask for it, but the team encourages you to try to solve your own problems first then ask for help if you need it. My work was always double checked to make sure that I was doing everything correctly.

Yes, I always had a to-do list that I couldn't finish. Some tasks were more urgent than others so being able to priorities was really useful! As expected, I was busier at some points and then less busy at others. If my workload was too much I could ask for help and when my workload was lower there was always a few tasks to pick up.

I was given a lot more than expected! I had a project that I was put in charge of that involved project managing and delegating work to heads of departments. I was able to work on customer facing projects that involved being responsible to completing work on time and to an acceptable standard.

This was my first real world experience of engineering so a lot of the take away I have is learning the process of design. I have also learnt to use certain software and create technical documents to specification. The role didn't really use a lot of the technical knowledge I learnt at uni but the 'soft' skills like learning to optimize designs for manufacturing methods and best practice for design I have developed that I will be able to use in masters design projects.

The office was really friendly, it was quiet but not silent. At times the office was louder as a lot of people were talking. If you wanted to talk to someone it was encouraged that you went over and discussed the subject rather than send emails, which made it much easier to understand tasks/ ask questions about work. Most people would be happy to stay late if there was a urgent deadline, but would also be able to leave 5 mins early if they had to.

There were several formal training days provided that allowed for us to travel to different sites throughout the UK. We also had online training provided that was more role specific, some of these had required completion dates but a lot were optional. There were a few IT teething issues at the start but the office and everyone was ready for our arrival.

The formal training sessions were really useful and were high quality. A lot of time was spent getting us up to speed on processes and mentoring. We were assigned a 'buddy' or person to contact iof we needed help but most people would be more than willing to spend an hour or two helping/mentoring/guiding if asked.

Don't take this internship if all you want is a stepping stone to a Graduate position. There is the possibility of getting recommended to a graduate position but it is an exceptional circumstance. There were 30+ interns but there are not as many graduate positions. Working for Eaton is really enjoyable and I think 90% of us interns intend to apply for further employment once we have finished degrees/diplomas

The bond between interns at the same site is very strong- 6 was in a group of 6 at one site. We ate lunch together every day, chatted in corridors and had a few pub trips as a group. Between sites the bind is a bit less, but at training events there was often the possibility of going out after with the entire cohort.

I lived in Cardiff and commented to Newport easily on the salary. If you wanted to socialize every day/go out every week then it would be expensive. We had a few team nights out but spent less than £50 every time. Some months were difficult in terms of making paychecks last, but the salary was enough to live off of.

We had to go to the nearest city for any real nightlife. The site I worked on was out of the town center making parking much easier! Nights out were typically in Cardiff and transport to/from was easy to arrange and mostly affordable. Some people would book accommodation for a night out so that they were not restricted by public transport.

Many! I was abler to get involved in careers fairs, company BBQs and nights out. The site I worked at had a 5-a-side football team that anyone could get involved in. There was also an employee lead green team focused on reducing out environmental footprint and encouraging eco-friendly behaviors that I could have got involved in.