Mechanical Engineering Intern Review

The internship was a fantastic opportunity to see into a large company like National Grid. Learning how the business system works and how information is exchanged will benefit my career in the future.

Some people within the company (as you would expect) had a poor attitude towards interns, passing us off as useless or insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Others however were incredibly welcoming and saw the opportunity to gather information and ideas from a fresh perspective. They also found our work empathic refreshing and motivating.

The supervisor assigned to me was a poor choice and unfortunately provided very little guidance or council during the 11 months (in fact he was around for only 50% of the time!). Instead I found support through other channels who helped to direct me and give me ideas to work on. The company itself is very relaxed in how people get work done and this can sometimes lead to laziness (it does however prove to be very effective most of the time).

The project I was assigned to provided the opportunity to do as much or as little work as I wanted to. But a good balance kept me busy every day (I was always doing something of use). The contract was 37 hours and it is likely I did 40 just because I enjoyed what I was working on. A very healthy level of busy.

Given that the project itself had only 1 other person directly working on it, all of the people I had as contacts were representatives from external companies. This meant that my partner and I were representing the company on a day to day basis with CEO's and leaders of suppliers and contractors. It felt as if I was completely in control of how the project was turning out. It was great!

A definite set of skills for life. Even if that is only the mindset of waking up 7am to get a full 8 hour day in, that routine will aid my studies immensely. The work ethic which I have established will also aid my studies. Networking and decision making skills picked up on the job will help me in my future career.

A perfect balance of professionalism and community spirit was felt in my section of the office, with people smiling and laughing throughout. The environment was very relaxed which helped me to get the most out of my placement. There was the odd stressed out manager with too much on their plate, but that is expected in a company with a work force of near 25000.

The placement and project was very well organised, with leadership coordinators running the show. The supervisor choice was less well organised along with the induction to the business. Some people would have really struggled in the beginning due to the lack of introductions, fortunately I'm not afraid of asking questions so I developed a network quite quickly. I would suggest that they spent more time ensuring the smooth intake of new interns so they feel comfortable in their working environment.

No additional training was received during the placement but in general it felt as though the program was developed properly with solid investment and strategy. I felt like the investment came in the form of knowledge and experience rather than random training and development.

Very appealing. Their graduate scheme looks excellent with fantastic training and development throughout. I will be applying for it 100%! The recruitment process is also very useful with summer placement students being informed of places on the gad scheme straight after their final placement.

Excellent! It felt like being at university; like minded people working together and socialising in their free time. Lots of interesting characters and lots of different places to meet. A handful of around 20 placement students met up regularly and helped each other out in huge company, ideal!

Very good for the work placement, but I know that rent in the area is quite high when looking for 12 month stints. The socialising costs can be as high or low as you like. I think rent for me was £260 per month and a pint came to £2.50 max.

I didn't spend much time enjoying the nightlife, but I know all of my colleagues enjoy the places that are available... There's definitely a couple of nice pubs for the quieter ones! And a few decent cocktail bars for those feeling flush.

There were a huge variety of opportunities outside of work including social clubs, sport clubs, company trips, volunteering etc. A wealth of opportunity. Unfortunately my placement was only 8 weeks long, so I spent the first 4 weeks finding out what was available and the remainder realising that I had very little time to do any of it! As a graduate I know what will be available and what I want to be going for.