Mechanical Engineering Intern Review

I really enjoyed my internship with BP, I felt that the work I was doing was contributing to the company and wasnt just useless tasks. All the staff in my office were really friendly too. My manager was very supportive and offered me help where I needed which was really helpful.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, I wasn't treated as inferior due to being an intern. I was invited to contribute in all meetings and my opinion was always welcome. All members of my department were keen to give me an insight into their jobs in the various different disciplines too.

I was given great support by my line manager. We would meet whenever I had any questions and he would ensure I fully understood. I was able to email/ go speak to him whenever I needed to also. He guided me through my projects and the relevant deadlines and how much work I needed to do for each.

I was fairly busy on a day to day basis, however sometimes I would be stuck for work when I was waiting to speak to a certain colleague who was busy. I did however volunteer for BP WIN - one of the business resourcing groups alongside my day job which helped keep me busy.

One of my projects was a learning activity so my work wasnt directly affecting the team, however as it was being compared to the actual work - I was able to have an impact this way. My other project I was given a lot of responsibility to do research and to be pro-active and reach out to relevant staff who could help me with my work.

I gained a fantastic insight into a professional engineering environment which has further aided me with my studies. I now have a greater awareness of the industry and the impact of my work at industry level. I also further devloped my team working skills while working in an office rather than at uni.

The general atmosphere was very friendly, I was able to speak to anyone and find out more about their work. As I was in the contractor office it was a lot smaller than the main site but this had the benefit of flexible working hours, so the office tended to be busier at 7am than 5pm as many liked to work early.

The internship was extremely well organised. There are an HR Team who we have contact with throughout the summer who were very helpful explaining anything I didn't understand. They also went through what was expected of us for the assessments and reviews which was very helpful. My manager was also very organised, emailing me any actins so I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I felt like BP invested in my and my personal development. Everyone I spoke to was extremely helpful in helping me gauge if BP was the company for me and if I was offered a graduate position here if I would want to take it. I had several insights from many different people about how their careers grew and advice on how they thought mine could.

After my summer with BP I would strongly consider a graduate oppertunity with them, or even to come back and join the company later in my career. My expectations were exceeded from what I expected from an internship from what I have heard about other companies. I would strongly recommend BP to anyone considering them.

As I was based in the contractor office in Leatherhead there was only one other intern here. However I volunteered for one of the business resourcing groups at the main site which gave me flexibility to go and join meetings there and work for the day. My manager was very flexible with this. But this definitely helped me socialise with the 20 interns in the main site. We had a group chat and there was always lots of activities planned throughout the summer.

As I was based in the South-East the cost of living and socialising is very expensive. We do however recieve an Outer London location allowance. I was luckey enough to stay with my family over the summer so this didn't affect me hugely but I know the other interns found suitable accomodation for reasonable prices. All socialising would mainly occur in London though which can be very expensive especially with the trains in and out from Surrey.

One would need to travel to London for a nightout. There are other local towns but they are not renowned for their nightlife. I don't see this as a negative as it is very exciting to be in london as a young professional and we have a good salary to cover these costs. But most of the intern socialising was far from where I worked.

Yes there were a huge range of oppertunities. Within BP I volunteered at the Young Scientist Day and I joined BP WIN the Women in business resourcing group. I would seriously recommend doing this as it helps you to network and learn more about the company. There were a range of other activities to get involved in such as lunch leanring sessions on different topics. There is also a sports club opposite the main site that I know lots of the interns there used.