Software Engineer Summer Placement Review

The placement was very enjoyable, I felt that it has been of a great benefit to my education and has given me many opportunities to learn and develop my skills in software. Adapting to the work environment was a slight challenge as I had not worked before; however, after the first week I was settled in the environment and enjoyed being there.

The environment I was in was very welcoming and my colleagues were friendly and the department as a whole was very inclusive. Everyone who joins the department is made to feel part of it and working in a nice environment made working at MBDA a pleasant experience. I got on well with everyone I met at MBDA.

The support is very good, questions are encouraged and the management were extremely helpful. Whenever I needed help with my work, it was made readily available in the form of books and online documents as well as advice and guidance from my managers whenever I didn't understand the way things were explained in writing.

How busy I was varied from day to day. On some days, I was working to a tight deadline, meaning I was extremely busy completing various tasks for my project, but on other days, there was little to do due to constraints and blockers that occurred, so there was a definite variation in how busy I was.

My team was given a lot of responsibility for our project; however our manager was also given some responsibility with external factors that affected our project and he also had a responsibility to help us when we were having difficulties completing our tasks. My team was responsible for developing the project.

The skills I have acquired as a result of this placement will definitely assist me in my degree as my degree is heavily related to software and my studies also came in useful from time to time with this work placement. I have also broadened my knowledge as I now have an understanding of the working environment and learned things I can put into practice when leaving university and going into a full-time job.

The atmosphere in the office was productive but helpful and friendly. I felt that I could ask anyone for help and it would be provided and it was a good environment for me to complete my work in. There aren't many distractions so getting on with my work was a lot easier.

The work placement itself in terms of the project was very well organised as requirements were detailed and the deadlines set were fair and realistic. The only negative was that it took a week for the software that I needed to be installed on my computer, which slightly hindered my progress.

MBDA offers many opportunities for personal development as they organise site tours, presentations and trips to enrich the experience. I felt that all the additional opportunities helped a lot as I now have a much better idea of the job roles I would like within the department. I also feel much more confident in my ability to complete tasks set in a software environment.

I would definitely like to come back to work at MBDA for another placement, fortunately I have secured a year in industry with MBDA which I am looking forward to in a year's time. There is a very good working environment in MBDA and the type of work I would be doing is well-suited to me.

There was definitely a good social scene amongst my colleagues and I met up a number of times with fellow placement students. I enjoyed meeting new people and finding out about their experiences with MBDA as some of the people I talked to were from different departments. They also had very positive experiences with MBDA.

The cost of living was very reasonable, considering that the location was so close to London. Accommodation was relatively inexpensive and living costs were average. The cost of socialising could be expensive, depending on the establishment everyone met up in; however many cheaper alternatives were available as well, so the cost of socialising would vary.

There was very very little nightlife in the area I worked in, which was quite disappointing; however it wasn't a huge problem as the nightlife was not that important to me. However, there were a few pubs in the area which were adequate when meeting up with friends and colleagues.

There were opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work which was nice as it provided me with the opportunity to get to know people that were in my department but I hadn't worked with. However, it would have been nice to have more opportunities as I feel that it's the best way to get to know people.