Mechanical Engineer Review

The role was that of a mechanical engineer working on a product with one other intern under the supervision of 4 supervisors of various disciplines. The role included a lot of self led work in whatever direction we wished to take it. Some of these activities was designing and prototyping, testing with high levels of heat and food, and electrical wiring work to make a device work using DC supply. This was continuously iterated through both considered longer alterations and quick tests to verify things.

I have developed lot of my skills which include CAD on Solidworks which I am now completing exams in to consolidate what I have learnt. I have improved my rapid prototyping skills and ability to adapt and make quick changes to see quicker results, whilst remaining representative. My electrical skills have improved through having to do all the wiring in a device to make it work. My software understanding of how to use a Raspberry Pi has improved by observation and logic brainstorms.

This question is very split as on one hand we were left to take our projects in almost whatever direction we liked under the guidance of the supervisors so within the project itself we were given a lot of the responsibility to figure things out and create the best product possible. However, within the company, not much responsibility was given as they were internal projects and not of importance to the company or the clients which meant less responsibility.

Lots of support was given as we had 4 very present and helpful supervisors that were very intrigued by the project and wanted us to succeed. The addition of a line manager to help structure goals and achievements was also very helpful, together with an assigned buddy who was great to introducing to new people that he thought could be beneficial and interesting to my career and interests. More support would have only been possible if the supervisors were also working on the project as you could learn from the actions and decisions they make.

Very friendly atmosphere with a very you can speak to anyone mentality, no matter their rank, especially when talking about your projects. The culture was good in terms of people didn't typically work too late and seemed to have a good work life balance. Not being in the centre of Cambridge did create some barriers to socialising outside of work as much as potentially could have been however. Although overall everyone was very nice and a full range of ages.

I thoroughly enjoyed the placement, more than just chilling and enjoying the sun all summer which is the biggest compliment. The project was super fun and challenging, the extra activities were great such as the chance to go farming for a local volunteer lead farm and the meeting so many new people and friends, that I am going to stay in touch with. Working with many people from different disciplines was great and something I had not had much exposure to previously.

Yes

First advice would be to apply, lots of fun and valuable experience, whilst getting to live in Cambridge. Secondly, don't give up on the many stages of interviews, you might start to doubt yourself but it is worth it in the end. Make sure to focus on the interesting things you have done, no matter how small as everyone in the building will get very distracted by an interesting story or piece of technology.