Electronic Engineer Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the company. The work provided to the summer interns was challenging but manageable. I found the work provided from day to day very interesting. My placement was for 12 weeks (although 10 or 11 weeks were also available) which was an ideal amount of time to progress through all the stages of an entire project.

My colleagues made me feel very valued at all times during the placement. My opinion on project work was considered and the work I was provided to complete was beneficial to the company. I was treated equally, just the same as other people in the office who were full time employees and in some cases who had been there for a long time!

Lots of the graduates, buddies and managers were always on hand to offer their advice if you required it. You are provided a mentor who will review your progress throughout the placement at different stages and can offer help and support for your work if necessary. Additionally, any other employees if approached would always spare their time to help you with you work. However if you didn't ask for help you would be left on your own at times.

From my point of view, I was surprised about how much responsibility I was given from the start. From day one, we were thrown straight into the project work after being introduced using a kick-off presentation. The project work we were provided would be beneficial to the company in the future and in some cases will be used by them or progressed to be in the very near future.

This summer, two training days using design software internally were offered which were required in the long term to complete our project work for the companies. My skills using Microsoft Office packages has also significantly improved. Some of these skills will be useful but not all to assist me with my degree studies. Beyond university, it has put me in a fantastic position to move into a professional position more comfortably.

The office had a friendly atmosphere. The office was not silent but not too loud to work, people talk to each other regularly just outside in the break out area where tea and coffe was provided. All of the summer interns in my team were sitting in the same area of an office which was great for the social aspect and to work better on the project work provided.

Very well organised. There was a clear structure that has obviously been working year on year and improvement have been made where possible. When I first started I had some problems such as IT issues which were not dealt with very quickly. You are provided a buddy as an easy point of contact to talk about anything really.

I did not receive offers to obtain training however I feel if I had asked and if its justified it may have been accepted however I only spent 12 weeks at the company. The firm setup micro sessions with different departments so it gave you an insight into the different areas you could work in the company.

Very appealing! A lot of summer interns in later years may be offered a place on a graduate programme so when they go back to university for their penultimate year they are stress-free not looking for a job. People are sometimes offered summer placement in the next summer if they make good progress.

There was the opportunity to meet more of the summer placement students during a few networking sessions set up. Most of us summer interns in my team were seated together so we were quite social. We would always go to the canteen together for lunch at the same time everyday. On a few occasions we went for lunch together at the retail park.

Stevenage itself can be quite expensive but it depends what area you live in. If you decide to live in surrounding areas of Hertfordshire you could expect to pay more. Living costs were pretty standard for this part of the country. MBDA offer a Facebook group where you can attempt to make plans with other new starters to get accommodation sorted.

I think this aspect of the placement is very poor in my opinion but there is a not a lot you can do about it. A lot of graduates live outside of Stevenage and live in surrounding areas such as Hitchin. London and Cambridge are nearby but very expensive so this can be a bit of a challenge on a lower salary.

Personally I did not get very involved in activities outside of work but my time here has been short. There is definitely events organised by departments and the company throughout the year. There is clubs for sports and hobbies and some of this information can be found in the atrium area.