Reservoir engineering intern Review

I really enjoyed my work over the summer. The work had a real business objective so it was good to actually do proper work rather than unnecessary or pointless work found on other internships. The work was technically interesting and taught me a lot of new skills which I really enjoyed, and I enjoyed socialising with the other interns and the graduates.

People were very professionally supportive and positive about the work I was doing. They were always stressing the business need for it and how important it was for the project. It was great to hear this from them, especially early on. There were certain cliques for lunch times etc but generally people were very friendly and happy to help.

My supervisor was fantastic. I was a chemical engineering student doing reservoir engineering so it was quite a change of discipline. However he was very good at providing material to help my understanding and allow me to self teach, whilst also being able to explain things to me himself and answer my questions.

It was a very busy internship. I had a lot of work to do, especially near the end. As with any work there was the odd lull, but this was more due to me focussing on other parts of my work rather than pressing on with the main project. Whilst there was a lot of work, it was all achievable and I was still able to keep a good work life balance

I had some great opportunities during the placement. Not only did I get the chance to present to the VP and other high level management, but I also got the chance to lead meetings. Obviously I wasn't actually leading the entire project, but being able to become effectively the discipline lead within the project meant that any questions on that part were directed at me and not my supervisor which was a nice responsibility to have

It was a completely different discipline to my university degree so I don't think it will be much assistance there. However the feedback and general soft skills that were developed over the internship is very important. They will definitely help me in not only university projects but also how I go about my day to day life. The technical skills will also help if I decide to go into the industry for my career

It is a professional office. Whilst this may sound serious, it is clear that everyone is sharp and wants to get the job done. People are friendly and happy to talk about their weekends etc, but whilst at work the general consensus is that the work comes first. We did have cake on Wednesdays alongside team away days etc so there was also a balance of relaxation as well

At the start things were very organized. We all knew where we had to go and the induction day at the start was very good for explaining what the company is and what is expected of you for the placement. Towards the end there was some confusion about what the final few days would entail. They were very quick to let us know about whether we had the grad job or not afterwards though

Given it was only a summer there was limited chance to do training compared to a year placement. However the company put on presentation training within the first few weeks which was extremely beneficial, and there were lots of opportunities to get involved with other areas, such as the engagement and community committee which organised socials and charity events, and also lunch and learns where we took our lunch to a meeting room and someone gave a presentation all about a certain area of the business or their interest

Over the placement we were marked and we also had a review with our supervisor and an independent assessor which was marked. From this it was decided whether we would be offered a graduate job or not. I was offered a graduate job for reservoir and petroleum engineering, which I am very pleased about. I haven't yet decided whether I will take it though

We had monthly drinks with the interns and graduates, and then there were other socials including a bar crawl, summer ball and dinners. Generally people were very social and we met up at the sports club for a drink after work a few times, and it was common for interns to have lunch together. However the interns were spread across London so it was difficult to regularly meet up without organisation in advance. There was an intern house in student accommodation but this was very expensive so not many people were in it

It was London prices so places were expensive. I lived in Twickenham which was a lot more expensive than at university (Birmingham). Drinks in the centre of London was very expensive however it just meant that the interns would try to meet at the wetherspoons instead. Travel around London is very accessible and relatively cheap

In Twickenham it was mostly bars rather than nightclubs. However if we wanted to socialise we usually went into the centre, which was annoying to travel in and out of. Once in London it was great, if quite expensive. Given some of the interns lived in the centre it just meant having to sleep on someone's sofa for a night until the trains to return to Twickenham

We were all encouraged to be part of "business resource groups" which were things like women in engineering, diversity and the social groups. So almost all of the interns had a role in one of these. There is a sports club next to site which is affiliated with BP so there were tennis courts, a gym and a bar. Within London there are so many things to do and clubs to be part of as well