Project Engineering Intern Review

The placement definitely wasn't a struggle but it was not what I expected and so, although I learnt some life skills I did not enjoy the placement overall.

I felt that the work I was doing was valuable to the company and appreciated by the manager. However, had i not been here it could have easily been done by someone else.

Support from my manager was intermittent. I relied heavily on colleagues who were extremely helpful but my supervisor was too busy to support me most of the time.

I did not have enough to do for my 3 month placement. By the end of the 2nd month I had finished most of my projects and was asking people in the office if I could help them with any of their work,

I was given full responsibility for my projects. I met with and negotiated with vendors on my own but when it came to making serious decisions such as spending money I would run it by one of my superiors first.

I definitely obtained a few life skills such as negotiating with vendors and project planning, but this placement was irrelevant to my degree and not the sort of job I would be looking for in the future.

The office was a group of middle-aged men who were all very helpful and chatty but the office was mostly quiet and heavily work-orientated.

It was organised well by the HR team with a successful induction day where all of the interns got together, but my particular placement wasn't as organised as HR made it out to be. The workload wasn't enough and their wasn't the support structure I was expecting.

I didn't feel like I was an investment. I attended one actual training session for my particular role but had to learn everything I needed to know from the people in my office as opposed to from the company.

Despite not enjoying my particular placement I would certainly consider future employment with the company in a different role. The company structure is very inviting as offices are open and there is not a visible hierarchy. The associates are all friendly and happy to help and there is also a lot of room for promotion, travel and personal development.

I was the only summer placement student at my site and there were no social events in my 3 months there so no social scene. Although I know that there is a Christmas night out and all associates day every year.

Being near London the cost of living was quite high. The cinema was also quite expensive but restaurants and bars were reasonable.

The city was so small there weren't really any good bars/ clubs for a night out! Being close to London and Reading though there is opportunity for a good night out if you don't mind getting a train.

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