Technical Consultant Intern Review

Amazing work experience opportunity at Autodesk. I was challenged, trusted and given plenty of responsibility with actual projects that make a difference in the company. The atmosphere is amazing and had a real sense of community with many other interns in the same position. Will definitely be coming back after graduation.

Everyone in the company and a different skill set and a real sense of community formed where everyone supported each other. On top of being given real projects to work on (and being responsible for them), I also supported other colleagues with areas which I had focused on. I was treated as an employee more than an intern.

Due to the diverse range of skills at the company, it was very important that I found the right person for what I wanted to achieve. There is a real open community for peer assisted learning and I was always guided to the right place. Though I was a little lost at the start, I found my way and got all the support I needed

This experience was not just about doing work, but learning a set of skills otherwise not achieved at university. We were encouraged spent a lot of time exploring and learning new things whilst doing work. There was no expectation to have completed a certain task by certain day so I was never stressed and was able to produce work at the best of my ability.

Having been trained on certain machines, I was trusted to use, help others and even guide other employees on them. I was responsible for knowing what I need to know and asking for help when necessary. For larger projects, I was given less responsibility in that i had a lot more guidance and direction but this really helped me get the most out of them.

I gained team work skills, experienced real interactions in business and really developed my ability to use CAD softwares from the Autodesk's perspective. This really helps with university projects and is directly translatable. My hands on experience has been invaluable and something that's difficult to gain at university which has less opportunities. Some experience is company specific so although an invaluable insight, not directly translatable.

The atmosphere was fun, supportive and everybody was there to work as a team. At no point did I feel intimidated or stressed since everybody is extremely understanding and there is a fantastic culture framework set up to ensure everybody is happy. There are foosball tables and games rooms. Never a dull moment!

The internship scheme for technical interns is very new and the framework is still under development. Though there was no specific task set for us from the start, we got the necessary generic training and dispatched to our team's where our wishes and goals were discussed. Every project was tailored to what we wanted to achieve by the end.

Even before the start of placement, we were invited out to numerous events, wellbeing events, socials etc. We had budget to buy the amenities we wished for better welfare. If we wanted specific support, Autodesk would have been more than happy to supply that training. We were clearly seen as future employees of the company and have every interest to invest in interns.

The placement team are eager to have us on board and have already offered opportunities to come back as graduates or further placement roles. Almost all interns/grads succeed with a job and everybody who have a job with Autodesk from the graduate program are extremely happy with their employment roles.

In total, there were about 15 interns and many existing graduates at the workplace. The social scene was great with Autodesk organising many social outtings to help us all get to know eachother better. The communal canteen with social activities and games definitely added to the social interaction between groups.

Birmingham itself is a very cheap and affordable place to live. Located in small heath, housing is affordable and local stores are cheap. Food in the canteen is subsidised and so lunches are cheaper than buying it out. Overall, cannot find a cheaper place to live and work whilst still having access to the bustling city centre.

I personally did not go out at night much but many of my colleagues did. There are plenty of bars, pubs and clubs in the city centre and Mosley where many of the interns and grads live. The food scene in Birmingham is outstanding however and events out are delightful.

Autodesk has many small social groups such as an international football team between offices, gaming groups, sporting groups etc. If you had an interest, you are likely to find a group of people with similar interests. There are also many opportunities provided by Autodesk (as part of a year long placement) such as cycling schemes and subsidised club memberships.