Mechanical Engineering Intern Review

Working at Arup was a great learning experience and a really helpful introduction to building engineering. My degree programme at university had mostly focused on automotives, so I was a little unsure about the processes involved in buildings. Arup provided the opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects with various teams and disciplines and left me with a deeper understanding of the industry as a whole.

The project teams were helpful and welcoming and I felt included in the team straight away. The people sat around me on the office were not on my project team, but were always happy to help when I got stuck. I spent a lot of time using software I was unfamiliar with, so the ability to lean over and ask for help whenever I needed to was really valuable.

The person originally assigned to be my manager either wasn't informed or missed the email. While I had some contact with her, she didn't have much for me to do and was on holiday for a portion of my placement. Another manager took over and brought me onto a bigger project which became my main focus for the placement. He was always helpful and patient and I appreciated his guidance.

There were a couple lulls and a few days I felt somewhat overloaded, but overall I would say the work balance was good. I was able to reach out to others and ask for work when I fell into lulls. The days where I felt overly busy were somewhat unusual circumstances that were out of our control.

I was given more responsibility than I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise. As a uni student who did not have previous experience in buildings, I wasn't expecting too much but was given tasks that I had to learn how to do while I was doing them. This proved to be invaluable learning experience.

Through the placement, I have gotten more context to the things I have been learning at university. I was also exposed to a new facet of mechanical engineering that I didn't know much about. The placement has definitely made me feel more confident in my abilities and has given me some options to consider for my career moving forward.

The office was more casual than I expected which was a welcome surprise. The general vibe was pretty casual and relaxed. The people were a mix of people who were more laid back and people who were more focused and quiet. Overall it was a great atmosphere and I met up with colleagues outside of work several times.

I had a bit of a rough start as my original manager didn't know she was meant to be my manager. She didn't have much work for me and she had planned a holiday for a portion of my placement. However, the other people who needed work done welcomed me onto their projects and involved me in their work.

They invested a lot of time in me as I was given tasks that took longer for me to complete as I had to learn how to do them from guide books before I began. This was really great experience for me and the time investment definitely improved my experience. I also spent several days learning new software and the people around me were always happy to help.

I had a great experience at the London office and will likely be joining the Edinburgh placement for a longer placement in January.

Some of the other students were quite friendly, but overall we didn't meet up much.

London is the most expensive city I have every lived in. My weekly expenditure here was over twice that of what it would have been at uni despite staying in more often. I don't think I would come back unless I secured a higher paying job or had a really great opportunity.

There is lots to do and I had a great time exploring the craft beer scene, however it was much too expensive to go on a proper night out.

There were often emails and flyers going around for things to do outside of work. There also seemed to be email lists for clubs or groups that people could join in order to further socialise outside of office hours. I believe there are also volunteering opportunities that you can get involved with.