Software Engineering Intern Review

Really enjoyed my first intership at Tata Steel. I was based in a small development team and had my own projects to work on. They were all very accommodating and helpful during my time there and I learned so much!

Obviously you're not working on projects of equal signifigance as full time employees, but you are given real projects with a real business purpose which is nice. You're not working on something that will never see the light of day. You also have a lot of interaction with the interal software 'clients', meaning you get lots of helpful feedback on the work you're doing.

The support and guidance is amazing. You're given a very clear understanding of the project you're undertaking and they always ensure they're available for any queries or issues you may have while working on your project. You're never felt like you're being a nuissance by asking for help, everyone is very welcoming and approachable.

You pretty much always have something to do. Once you've received you're project you'll be busy for weeks, and if you finish it there's always more projects available to undertake.

You're given a surprising amount of responsibility in regards to your project. You obviously have a project brief detailing what the client is looking for, however it's very much down to you how you execute the project. There are some restrictions due to the structure of the business and the department's standard, however you do have a lot of free reign.

The knowledge and skills you gain from a placement like this is extremely valuable. As this was my first internship which I did inbetween my first and second year of university, I was learning things ahead of where the course was which was very helpful. Not only are you surpassing the knowledge of you're course but once you do get around to touching on these topics in university you can hit the ground running and feel very comfortable with them.

It's a really great office environment. Every is very friendly and helpful, and always make time for you. You can also have a laugh with everyone in the office, some really great people in there!

It's very well organised. Your first week consists of an induction week which discusses some HR type things, an overview of the business, and some health and safety stuff. After that you're off to your departments and start working. The first day or two may be some more introductions, health and safety stuff specific to that department, and some other stuff like that. Then depending on your skill set you'll either start on a project straight away, or you may do some online training/studying regarding the technology you will be using for your project. For example, the department's main programming language is C#, if you're unfamiliar with the language they'll probably suggest you have a look at some tutorials on your first few days to familiarize yourself with it. Once you're getting the hang of the technologies you will be using you're then given a project and off you go.

As I mentioned above the software development training they have available is really good. Not only do they have access to high quality online training, they're all personally willing to run through topics with you and explain them to you which is good. The company also offers training such as networking events, health and safety, etc. There's lots of training available for those who want it!

The company offer a very good graduate scheme which offers a lot of support for people studying engineering disciplines who would like to get chartered. Their entire graduate scheme is oriented around this to better allow you to gain chartership if you wish.

Yes! Obviously it all depends on who's there but the placement students I was with were very sociable and made some great friends with them.

I lived local to the site so not really sure what to put here. South Wales isn't a very high cost of living area but it's hard for me to say for those who needed to relocate.

Port Talbot has a small handful of bars/clubs, however it's located directly inbetween Swansea and Cardiff which are both really good nights out!

Yes! The company often holds sporting events for departments to have some friendly competition with each other, and occasionally some social nights out too!