Intern QA Engineer Review

This placement provided me with a valuable insight into the development and applications of computer aided engineering software, although at times tedious, the work was engaging and applied. The office atmosphere was very pleasant, casual dress code, flexible working hours, kitchen and being surrounded by experienced friendly people, this certainly made the year more enjoyable.

You are not treat as an intern, you are a valuable member of the team whos workload is just as important as a full-time employee. Colleagues are very supportive, as there are steep learning curves, and value you contribution to the product. My experience is very positive.

The internship program support is fantastic, regular monthly meetings are had which consist of an informal sit down chat with your supervisor, discussing both work and personal life (if you want to), the dialogue is always open and if there's any concerns they can be addressed in these meeting, or at any time.

My workflow did tend to fluctuate between being extremely busy then having not much immediate work to do but there was always at least something to do, whether it was writing automated software tests or working on personal projects which exercised the software.

The team relies heavily on interns. As an intern, you are responsible for the quality of a high end piece of CFD software that huge technology companies pay a lot of money for. You generally get to do some of the less interesting/technical, but equally important work, this can be a bit of a downer.

With respect to my degree (mechanical engineering), this placement has given me some transferable skills, but loads. This role is software testing geared towards electronics design, I have learned some things, mainly around electronics design and basic CFD. One of the most valuable things I have learned is some basic Python coding which I learned through a self-initiated personal project.

Really good, in general everyone is quite and gets on with their work but you can always ask for help. people go to lunch together, there's a kitchen where you can drink tea and eat biscuits, completely casual dress code, flexible hours and the office generally comprises of cynical older men who can be quite funny (other than the dad jokes).

The internship scheme is really really well set up, everything is accounted for and if there's ever anything you need help is there. With the placement being 13 months, at the beginning you spend a month with the previous interns, socializing and learning the role, then at the end you hand over to the new interns, this is a really good part of the placement.

As well as the handover period, I was given product training on 3 software programs, DiSC training and constantly learning new skills throughout the year (such as linux). Other than this you it is up top you what you learn.

The company division does have a history of employing former interns although formal contracts are not offered, roles are normally advertised and then former interns apply for them and have a higher chance of being employed again.

This purely depends on who you are on placement with, in my office there are 2 other interns, I live with one of them who I get on with really well but in general socialising outside the office is poor as everyone is generally older and has family commitments. Occasionally on a friday the office will go to the pub for lunch, there is a christmas party and intern leaving party but that's it.

Nottingham is extremely cheap for both accommodation and cost of living, student city so plenty of bars, coffee shops and clothes shops. Commuting to work from the city centre on the bus is capped at £75 every 28 days so dirt cheap, money won't be an issue.

The office is in a business park so no nightlife there, Nottingham has fantastic student nightlife, if you have people to go with! Plenty of live music too which is really good.

Almost nothing, people in the office keep to themselves. Again, this is what you make of it, there is plenty going on in nottingham it's just up to you as an individual what you get up to, the placement isn't going to babysit you.