Jiya: an internship at Amazon

Jiya is studying Aerospace Engineering and has just completed a four-month internship in Operations at Amazon, based in Swansea, with some trips to the location in Edinburgh.

Achievements to be proud of

I led the 'Internal Clean Decant' project from start to finish, giving me project management experience and leadership skills. I led meetings with business stakeholders for the approval and implementation of the project. My proposal led to a successful implementation, achieving a 33% improvement in efficiency.

This project gave me the opportunity to take full authority and ownership of a real-world operational challenge. It allowed me to apply my theoretical knowledge to solve actual problems that would make a big impact on daily operations within the site.

I really enjoyed conducting in-depth research, collaborating with various teams across the site and presenting a detailed project proposal to the site senior leadership team. Seeing my work getting approval, being implemented and being nominated for recognition in site innovation felt incredibly rewarding.

 I didn’t expect to be given such high level of responsibility

My placement exceeded my expectations. The entire experience was totally rewarding, I didn’t expect to be given such high level of responsibility. The freedom to lead my project made it an empowering opportunity.

Being involved in strategic business planning, data analysis and leadership tasks gave me exposure far beyond than I imagined for an intern role. Although I was initially hesitant about moving away from home for the placement, it ended up being one of the most rewarding and enjoyable summers of my life.

What I’ll takeaway

As an aerospace engineering student, this placement allowed me to apply my learnt engineering principles into real-world context, especially in areas of system thinking, data-driven decision making, process optimization and design challenges. Leading a site-wide project allowed me to develop my abilities to manage complex systems – an essential skill that would really benefit me in my future aerospace career.

Working in a high-stakes, fast paced environment honed my leadership skills, which will be invaluable in my future roles whether it is in the aerospace, manufacturing, or operational industries. 

My advice: treat it as more than just work experience

My best advice to students would be to step out of your comfort zone and don’t hesitate to take on any opportunity that comes your way. Even though the placement I did was not entirely relevant to my degree I gained valuable skills that are easily transferrable to my future career as an aerospace engineer.

Treat your placement more than just work experience - take initiatives and seek feedback from peers and teammates. Every feedback received enriches you with a new skill. Whether it’s leading a project or taking part in daily operational activities – take on everything as a learning experience and make the most out of it.

Never miss the chance to network and build relations with your team – it really adds the sparkle to your placement experience.