Cyber Specialist Intern Review

The placement I chose to undertake was enjoyable in the sense that it allowed me to come into contact with a load of different people and teams whilst gaining experience and knowledge in an area which I want to go into in the future, however there is a huge emphasis on personal growth and trying to push boundaries which is good but can be nerve-wrecking at the start.

Everyone I came into contact with was kind and made time for me to ask questions. Some even took a more proactive approach and approached me at the start which helped me start to network. You'll get treated like an equal from day 1, however bear in mind that it's a busy office so expect that people can be busy and difficult to get ahold of at times.

I met with my manager on the first day in the office and he showed me the ropes at the start. In the internship you won't be micromanaged, however if you need help you can always ask and someone will always help. With me, I had my manager most the time and when he was off I could still keep in touch via Skype/email or ask someone around the office for help.

With my particular project it was difficult as we were attempting something from scratch that no one knew about. At the start my job was very research-based with me going off and learning about the project, and so at the start I found myself wondering what to do next or whether I had done enough or not. Round the middle, it was work picked up and I ended up having multiple things to work on which ended up being a little stressful, however I have to admit it did help me to learn how to adapt and multi-task between projects. This wasn't the same for everyone as some other interns had work from the start or a set task list and so it does depend on where you decide to go.

As stated before, at the start the responsibility was fairly small as this was a new project and so I was simply learning/growing, however in the middle things cropped up and suddenly I had a lot more responsibility and as such I feel as though I was given a fair amount of responsibility during the internship.

During the performance reviews, you have a personal development plan that you can put in place to aid you in your development and so for myself it was mainly that I was bad a presenting, and so my manager made sure to give me opportunities to present to different people to help practice for the final presentation. I also developed some technical skills which may be useful for my degree and further career options.

I was based over in the Telent office and sometimes made my way over the National Grid House (10 minutes away) for meetings. Both offices had a bustling atmosphere with people working and meetings being held. Initially in this atmosphere it can be intimidating to go up to someone and 'disturb' them however eventually you end up becoming more confident in approaching people in the office.

The internship was well organized in the sense that training was provided and the interns managers were all notified prior to us coming to the office and prior to performance reviews. The only small thing is that during our first weeks training there was an issue causing us to get the laptops a week late, however this was a relatively minor thing that will most likely be fixed for the next years intake.

The first week we were based in the training center in Nottinghamshire. National Grid provided accommodation, food and training for the week and there is a following 2 days 'review' session in Nottinghamshire round the last few weeks. This training was mostly a company induction followed by a lot of personal development, getting to know others and yourself, mental health and wellbeing and more. Though there is not much technical training, you will be instructed or given direction on what you need to do your job, and help is always sitting next to you if you ever get stuck.

National Grid is a good company to work in IT/Cyber for as the people here are eager to share what they know and the culture is very open. There is lots of opportunity for lateral movement (as I've been told) and so there's a chance to get a broad range of experience and potentially some travel in the future if that's what you like.

The initial training had the Power Academy Students, the Interns and the Industrial Placement Students all mixed together and so there is a good chance to network at the start and go out. Throughout the internship you build connections to buddies (past students) and other older students who did the same/similar programs and work in the same office and so you have a lot of chances for social gatherings if that is what you enjoy.

Truth be told I am unsure of the cost of living as I live in and commute from a nearby city and so cost of living is just my normal everyday monthly expenses. For socializing, that depends on where you're going really. I don't drink and so I don't know the prices around here, however I do know there are some local bars that you can go to nearby areas for other sports/activities.

There are a decent number of good bars and clubs over in nearby areas like Leamington Spa, however I found that most people on the scheme tended to go to larger cities like Coventry or Birmingham for a good night out. During our internship some interns went to festivals and there was a night out to Birmingham planned as well.

There were some opportunities to get involved if you wanted to as part of the New Talent Program, with opportunities like sports and social events. There is also a wellbeing team which plans wellbeing events in the workplace that I joined for a while and we ended up hosting a small event in the office which, again, gave us a chance to network and was good for personal development.