QA intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at Mentor. It was challenging, but I was well supported by those around me and I've learned a lot throughout the course of the year. The placement has given me a better idea of some of the wider industries to which an engineering degree is applicable.

I always felt valued by my colleagues when I was working here. I never felt as though I was looked down on for being an intern and not being a full-time member of staff. I got on well with pretty much everyone in the office and I felt as though I was relied upon, which I enjoyed.

There is a great amount of support given at Mentor. There is always a one month overlap period where all of the old and the new interns are at the company. During this period, new inters "buddy up" with one old intern and are given very useful inductions and training. After this one month period, there is still plenty of support - as long as you pipe up and ask for it.

My workload was never particularly consistent. There were times when I was overloaded with work and times when I had almost nothing to be getting on with. This is unfortunately part of the nature of the QA role - you have to wait until a developer finishes their work and sometimes there is just nothing to be testing. However I did find that when I was overloaded I felt comfortable enough to let someone know and try and give some of my work to someone else. Likewise when work was thin on the ground, all i needed to do was ask and a manager would find some to assign to me.

You're given quite a lot of responsibility in your job role - essentially you're responsible for the overall quality of the product that goes out. There was never a time when I thought I was being given 'intern work' (easy or insignificant work provided just to keep an intern busy) - I knew that all of the work I was doing was important.

I don't think that any of the skills that I learned on my placement we're directly applicable to my degree (aeronautical engineering). That being said, I learned a whole bunch of new skills in the field of computer science / programming, so if my degree was in one of these fields I think my score would be very different. I have definitely also improved my time management and other generally planning skills.

I really liked the atmosphere in my office. It was quite small, but I enjoyed that because I knew everyone in the office quite well and we all got on. In general the office is quite quiet and relaxed, but there's definitely a few personalities who keep things interesting throughout the day. The atmosphere suited me down to the ground and theres very little I'd to improve it.

The placement was very well organised. The people who organised the placement put in a lot of effort to make it the best possible experience for the interns who work here. There was an opportunity to come into the office and meet everyone before the placement actually starts which I found great. There were various training and travel opportunities for us to see the other UK offices, and these were all very organised.

There we're multiple training courses. Firstly, basic product training on all of Mentors big MAD products. Secondly we had some DiSC training which tells you about how people perceive your workplace behavior, and how you can better handle interactions at wok bast on the behavior they exhibit. We also had some GIT training which is a very useful skill that I'm very glad I've learned.

There is no formal graduate program at Mentor. However, they do have history of hiring interns later to be full time members of staff. I think in the future I can definitely see myself applying for a job in the company, and I think I'd definitely be at an advantage and stand a good chance of being considered.

Students who work at the same office are encouraged to live together. In my experience the students have been very sociable, but i suppose it is down to a little but of luck there. You will meet the interns from other offices, but only a handful of times throughout the year, so the social life with these people is basically non-existent. I'd say you're more likely to form a few good friends than many.

I found that the cost of living in / around Nottingham was pretty reasonable. As you get closer to the town center it tends to get more expensive, which is really to be expected. If you choose to live close to the office, its further away from Nottingham, but there are convenient tram links into the city in any case. Cant really complain about the cost of anything, because it's probably the first time a student will actually have a full time wage - you'll be able to afford it.

There's absolutely no nightlife near the office - Its on an industrial estate kind of in the middle of nowhere. If your want nightlife you want to try Nottingham or Mansfield. Nottingham does have some very unique / quirky bars, and Mansfield is just a bit terrifying. If you're prepared to travel a bit you'll have a good night, but its not close to the office.

There were a couple of events at the beginning and the end of my placement which were pretty enjoyable. Free meals followed by drinks, and other crazy golf night were good fun. We also had an office Christmas part which is always fun to be a part of. there was also an oppourtunity to get involved in a sponsored 10k run if this is your thing.