Aviation Power Hardware Intern Review

I enjoyed my work placement thoroughly. I gained a large amount of skills and experience from the placement, including use of Microsoft Office and other computer software to make work quicker and easier. The job also gave an insight on the processes the aviaion products go through from design to build to completion

I feel I was valued by my colleagues a lot as I was trusted with some important decisions and it was said I was seen a a proper engineer instead of an intern. They had no worries with giving me work and were sure I could complete it on time and to a good standard

Support and guidance was there for me the entire internship. From the start I was assigned a person to help me setting up and get me up to speed with the day to day work routine. I had one-to-ones with my manager every two weeks, and colleagues were always happy to answer questions

On a day to day basis, my workload was large but manageable. I was kept busy with a variety of tasks including keeping bills of material up to date, communicating with the customer and the supplier, design work, documentation reviews and releases, plus a dedicated project for people on a placement year, plus volunteering work

I was put in charge of the schematics, documents and Bills of Materials (BOMs) for a proportion of the placement. These tasks carried a high level of responsibility as if these tasks were done wrong, the entire programme will be affected. For example, with the BOMs, I had to make sure they lined up with schematics and drawings so the supplier had correct information

Some training received in the placement will be useful for the remainder of my degree. Information on handling sensitive parts is important, and the skills I learnt for Microsoft Office will be useful in producing high quality reports in uni. Additionally, some design top tips for circuit design will be useful in any circuit design needed in uni

General atmosphere varied on the stages of the project I was working on but was mostly positive, particularly when we completed a milestone in our work. On some of the more critical parts of the project the atmosphere was more urgent but that is understandable! Otherwise the atmosphere was quite relaxed and conversations between team members were plentiful and relaxed.

The work placement was very organised from the start. The recruitment process was organised and had a clear process. The first days at the placement were suitably planned, and any resources I needed including getting a desk and a laptop were available quickly. After the initial start there was no organisation per se to the placement, it just continued as the project did!

The company invested in me quite a bit, with plenty of training available to me, both more general (health and safety) and more specific to the company. Time was invested for me to learn some of the finer points of engineering such as surface mount soldering, and to learn company policies and procedures

Because the work was good, benefits were good and the location was favorable, the prospect of returning to the company is high, especially to see how the project I was working on had got on after I left! They also have a good graduate scheme which give insights into all different aspects of aviation engineering

I like and participate on the out of work social scene,and there was good selection of things to do in the town including bowling and adventure golf plus plenty of places to eat. Additionally, living with students meant we sometimes had a night in with drinks and food with friends of the students I lived with.

Living in a more upmarket town meant that rent was a little expensive but luckily I found a house with the student letting company there. The cost of living was manageable under the salary I was being paid for my placement, including grocery shopping and transportation to and from work.

I did not really participate on the night scene, however there was a good selection in the town for places to go.

Outside of work activities (excluding volunteering arranged by work and nights out) ,were not plentiful, for examples days out to waterparks or other places were not arranged often