Software Engineering Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at GE, with a large amount of challenging situations and real world project experience obtained. Moreover I was also able to gain a vast range of connections for the future, which will give me a good starting point when wanting to find a job in the future.

In my opinion, as I worked on a small team of 5 members, I felt like my contributions were heavily valued and the work I produced was made use of constantly. In addition, my knowledge which increased throughout the year was helpful in terms of the team discussions that took place as I could express my ideas and opinions

There was a vast amount of help and support offered at the company, and there were various points of contact for different aspects of work life. The overall guidance given was always available although there were times were responses were a bit delayed due to the people able to give help being extremely busy.

I was very busy on a daily basis, as there was a main project which I focused my work on but at the same time there were also 2 side projects I was able to take up of a very different nature to the main project. As a consequence there was always some work that had to be done to push progress forward with one of the 3 projects

Because I was able to work in small teams, most of the work for the projects was shared equally between the members meaning that there was a large amount of work and responsibility given to each individual. Another aspect to consider is working in the aviation industry which is extremely safety critical so there is always an element of responsibility when working in this sector

I was able to focus on an entire different side of the industry which I had not been exposed to previously and would not have had the chance to see if I had not done the placement. It gave me a much broader selection of options for my final year, as well as more confidence in terms of being able to do work aimed at different parts of the Software industry

The atmosphere was jolly and relaxed on a daily basis, with regular conversations taking place with people in my pen and other people from around the business, although this would only be the case if work had been done on time and to a high standard. The atmosphere is also very focused as most people sitting in the offices also have oppressive deadlines to meet

The internship is well setup because one gets to obtain hands on experience with projects and doing work which has an impact to the greater audience. But because of the size of the company there are many regulations that have to be followed and understood which can make the first few month especially tedious and tough

There were regular training sessions and briefs for interns at the company, specially at the beginning as getting used to the environment is not easy. In terms of technical training sessions, there were a few opportunities available to gain new skills, but with such a large workforce at the site there was always someone that could provide that help without the need for a course.

The graduate scheme offered is of a high standard and of high recognition but is very focused towards the Aviation industry, and if one wants to explore other areas of the field in which studies were carried out it can be hard. Another disadvantage is that the offering of full time jobs is also reduced as a consequence of having the graduate scheme available

Yes, there was a very good social scene between interns as there were over 60 on site. One eventually makes their own smaller group and meets up with them as often as they please, and meetings during lunch were also fun as many of the interns would sit together during lunch and interact

The cost of living in Cheltenham is average for the UK, but it is also a personal issue as one has to know how to manage their money. There are some cities where public transport is cheaper and the price of housing is also above average. Cost of going out is also a bit higher than average with cinema tickets and pubs offering prices slightly higher than other regions

The nightlife where I lived was more guided towards middle aged people, as there was a large number of pubs throughout the town, but for younger students there were only 2 clubs in the town and none of them were excessively large or attractive.

Yes, there were lots of opportunities to meet with fellow interns in groups and do activities outside of work. As many of the students have a car transport is not a problem and activities such as paintballing or clubbing in other cities is also a opportunity as long as the groups are willing to organize them