Engineering Intern Review

I think that my placement year went really well. I gained many new technical skills but the more important thing in my opinion is that I was able to greatly develop my teamworking and communication skills. This placement also enabled me to get used to how a large business works which will greatly help me in my future career.

The community here has been extraordinary. Everyone understood I was not as experienced as them and was happy to help whenever I asked. I think that this has been the best thing about working for Siemens. My manager also made me feel welcome to the business and everyone has seen me as part of the team. I also had a tutor throughout the year who I could contact if I had any problems that I couldn't discuss with my manager which I think was great.

My managers helped whenever I asked them to. They have also been very approachable and understood my needs.

Some days were busier than others but I never had to work extra hours. Usually, I would say I had enough work to keep me busy throughout the day without feeling it was too much to handle.

The level of responsibility I've been given exceeded my expectations. That was great as it made me feel really valued and I knew they were seeing me as an equal. It also made me feel motivated and confident, resulting in good quality work.

The working environment has been different from the University. During my placement I learnt some technical skills that may help me in the following year but it all depends on the project I will get for my dissertation. Apart from that, I have highly developed my soft skills. I think the best thing I learnt this year was how to be better at managing(Time/Resources) and that will have a great impact on my work at the University, next year.

The atmosphere in the office was relaxed. That means that even though everyone was working on important projects trying to meet the deadlines, no one was feeling or looking stressed in the office. All the managers were very approachable and if you had any problem they would always help and provide a solution. I think that greatly helped with keeping a calm working environment,

The internship was organised but as always in life nothing can go according to plan. During my year here, there were various business needs that had to be addressed so my placement plan got a bit shifted. In the end I still received the overall experience expected. I received updates on my placement monthly and feedback every 3 months so I was aware of my strengths and weaknesses and was able to improve.

I attended a couple of training events, some technical and a lot of health and safety. A good thing this year at Siemens was that we were the first interns to take part in the Internship development program, which consisted of a couple of training events around the year greatly helping me and others develop our soft skills and start seeing the business as a whole. It also provided a huge networking opportunity.

I think that they are average after comparing salaries with similar roles within the UK. Engineering starting salary seems to be pretty standard in the UK but I think Siemens is a good choice as it will support you throughout your career and offers great advancement opportunities.

As I said before, everyone here was very friendly and approachable. Getting together with everyone for a meal was a bit more difficult as the company was located in a little town and most people lived in the cities around so they would have to travel a long distance to meet.

The cost of living was average for midlands. The struggle was finding a furnished place as most available apartments/rooms available in this town didn't have any furniture. As interns, we don't really want to buy any furniture as there would be nothing to do with it the following year. Going out in one of the cities nearby was also a bit too expensive and difficult as there is no train station in this town.

Nightlife was decent for a town this size. A few bars and one club were available on the weekend and I was really impressed with the number of people going out. Prices were a bit high for this area though. Also clubs shut at 2:30 am which is quite early compared to the ones around Universities. No nightlife during the week.

There were a few opportunities during the year. I got involved in a few of them and also was given a day off work to help with a local improvement plan which I think was excellent. Siemens also supports any extra activities and will usually try to help you take part in any charity/community activities.