Summer Intern Review

The placement started off well with team bonding and an induction week with the other interns. In the first few weeks I was given work and objectives but I completed these quickly. I did ask for more work and was given some but it wasn't enough. I was quite bored during my placement and didn't really feel like part of the team. I didn't really use my degree at all. I know other interns had different experiences but for the last half felt quite pointless. The best part of the placement was the social side with the other interns.

My manager gave me good feedback and my buddy was really helpful and also gave me a lot of feedback. In general my part of the office was really quiet and no one really talked to me. I didn't feel part of the team, I think other interns had different experiences but for me it wasn't great.

I was given a buddy who helped me with my objectives. I was given help whenever I asked for it. My buddy set up meetings with other people in my department if he thought that they could help me. I saw my line manager every now and then and we had occasional meetings.

I was not busy at all. I often had days when I was just passing time. I asked for more work but I don't think I was given enough, they kept saying they would give me general tasks to fill the time but I only got about 3 of these (each took less than a day to complete). The small amount of work I was given towards the end was boring.

I had the responsibility of managing my own time but none of the projects I had seemed to be that important so they didn't really give me deadlines. For some of the projects no one really checked up on them and sometimes I would submit some work I had done and be told that they would get back to me with the next step and then they never would. So I was responsible for myself but none of the tasks I was given were important so I didn't feel a great sense of responsibility.

I didn't really use much of the stuff I had learnt at University in the job. Mostly I just filled in spread sheets and did a few flow charts. I did have two objectives that helped improve my understanding and I think I will use those at University. I definitely feel like they could offer more training or courses.

The people in my office were friendly and I felt I could ask anyone for help but no one really talked to me. I think it was because of where I sat and because my team were busy so they didn't really have time to chat. It made the placement quite boring but I did go and see the other interns quite a lot.

The timings of the induction week could have been refined so that we were always doing something and not just waiting. The IT took a long time to set up. The early careers team were quite good at organising meetings and giving us information. The team bonding was well organised.

We got sent on a Matlab training course.

I wouldn't want to return in case I was in the same situation again. I don't want to be put in a team that doesn't give me enough work and then I end up bored. The company also seems quite resistant to allowing you to change department and they have got rid of rotational placements on the grad scheme.

There was a really good social scene, we did something every weekend. We went on nights out, went to the cinema, had meals out etc. The first week something is organised for every day so you get to know each other really quickly. The best thing about the placement was the other interns. I would recommend living with other interns if you can.

Barrow is really cheap, especially compared to London. The taxis are super cheap, there were no entry fees for clubs and the cinema is less than a fiver. My rent was about £90 a week and there is an Aldi so you can definitely live on a budget if you need to.

Barrow is quite quiet but there are a few small clubs. The music is never very good and there aren't that many young people but if you go with a good group of people you'll have a good night. If you like pubs there are plenty of pubs to go to.

There were quite a few different activities organised by different people in the company. There were meals out, go karting and football organised by different departments. I didn't go to all of them but the interns who did really enjoyed them. There could be a bigger variety of activities on offer.