My experience at BAE Systems was an unproductive waste of time that gave me no opportunity to gain new skills or learn from other people.
I was required to be there for 9hrs a day charging to my task codes, while my manager, who I never met, would zoom in once per week for a 15 minute meeting (cameras off). The work was completely meaningless. Tedious tasks given to me, such as organizing spreadsheets, made it clear that I was not making an impact with my work. I was put in a room with a few other interns, and pretty much forgotten about until my last day. Work given to me was just to keep me busy, not to serve as a contribution. I was assigned another manager who would ignore exactly 100% of my emails. It was clear, nobody wanted to interact with the intern... so why was I there?
They did not have a project for me, and for the first two weeks struggled to find someone who was willing to take on an intern. And so, I pretty much did nothing but email my onboarding manager for help.
This was not the impression I had during my interview, and not an expectation that anyone has when taking a role somewhere new. I was utterly under utilized and intellectually under-stimulated.
I made the effort to relocate for the internship to NH, in expectation that the experience would be worth it. I feel like a fool. Worst case scenario I would do nothing and shadow someone right? Well, here's evidence that there's an even worse internship experience possible. Instead of passive learning, how about no leaning at all.
I felt completely lost navigating the bureaucratic structure of the company while being ignored by my two managers. Kafka's works never felt so relatable. I just can't get over it.... I had to be there, but only to be left alone with nearly nothing to do, or monkey work at best.
My only regret, not quitting sooner. I left a month early out of frustration.
