Undergraduate Electrical Engineer - Sponsorship Scheme Review

I have enjoyed the placement very much, as the team I was placed with were incredibly friendly and made me feel really welcoming. It is a great company to work for and the general atmosphere in the office is relax and not as formal as I expected it to be.

I felt that I was a great asset to the team. Right from day one they had multiple pieces of work for me to do. All of those pieces of work were of value to the team and they were happy for me to take them on completely by myself.

The structure of the team I was based in meant that although I did not have much contact with my line manager, I was placed under the responsibility of one of the team members. They were my first point of call and I met up with him on a daily basis, were he was always willing to give me support. If anything the guidance seemed overbearing at times, as it felt like I was constantly being watched which put the pressure on to make a lot of progress each day.

I would say that on a day to day basis there was always work to be done. Instead of being given loads of work to do all as once which would have meant that I would have been overwhelmed. I was allocated a single project at a time and allowed the time to tackle it at my own pace. I was always aware that once I had finished what I was doing there was plenty of work to o next. If I wanted more work all I had to do was ask.

Throughout the placement I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility. All of the work I was doing was aiding the company to fix many problems in there systems. This meant that anything I did would actually be used in the further. Though there was not an unreasonable expectation to the amount of responsibility I was expected to take. Everything I did would be validated be other members of the company.

The work that I did was very technical as specific to the systems that are being used at the company. Therefore if I were to return to the company then the skills I have developed will help assist my future career. In terms of my studies the most valuable skills I have developed are the ability to work within a busy team and learn to communicate effectively. I have also learnt always to tackle problems head on and that there is no time like the present.

The atmosphere in the office is very relaxed! All the offices are open spaces with a lot of light and they have recently put plants all around the office to improve the environment that we work in. Everyone is very friendly and it is not expected to be constantly doing or talking about work, there is room for chatting with people.

The placement is very organised, from the first day I knew where I was going and what I was doing! There were introduction days to get to know the company, department, team and fellow undergrads. The only thing is that I was never given work objectives that I was supposed to get.

The company cares a lot about everyone's personal development! There are lots of opportunities to do things outside of your working team such as tours, shadow placements and extra courses that may not be relevant to the given work but are of interest personally! My team has said on multiple occasions that they want me to get as much out of the placement as possible.

The job opportunities for after the placement are great. I was invited back from last years summer internship, so this is my second year with the company. There is a review at the end of the placement where my manager can approve me to come back as a graduate employee next year. As far as I have seen over the last 2 years nobody is rejected if they wish to work for the company in the next year.

There is a grad and undergrad network that organise many socials outside of work. My favorite is the weekly sports day where a different outdoor sport is selected every week, so far there has been cricket, rounders, touch rugby, ultimate frizbee and a fitness day. There has also been go carting and pub golf. Afterwards we often got to the pub for drinks or just to chat.

This is hard for me to say as I attend the local university to the company so continue to stay in my student accommodation that I already have to pay for. In terms of the socials most of them are going to the pub so it is as expensive as you want it to be.

I myself do not take part in the nightlife scene in the area although I know that there are many good and fairly cheep night clubs in both Leamington Spa and in Coventry. As these are the two most common places for people from the company to work then it very handy.

There is the Grad Net which was available only to undergraduates and graduates and that involved sports and socials outside of work. Although I did not take part in them I know that there were many volunteering opportunities, especially to help the local area. I also know of a formula E team that you could get involved in outside of work and take it to an annual competition.