Aman Mansuri is a 4th year student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Read on as he recounts his experience of interning with Tata Steel, Jamshedpur during the summers of 2016.

If you want to have an intern in core engineering which leaves you with enough time to still pursue other career options, Tata Steel is the company for you. The Inspire Summer Internship Programme through which Tata Steel recruits paid interns comprises an 8 week project which focuses on live problems the industry is facing.

Making it there

Tata Steel follows a typical selection process that includes an aptitude test, group discussions followed by personal interviews. Aptitude test consists of the core questions from your respective field of study along with logical reasoning and English. The questions are easy and you will be able to clear it with your basic concepts being clear. However, a good score in department specific questions will increase your chances of getting shortlisted irrespective of your performance in the other two sections.

Aptitude test is followed by a group discussion on a current affairs topic. Make yourself comfortable with the topic that has been in news lately and if you are lucky, you might get the same topic you went through a night before. Group Discussion further narrows down the pool to a few candidates. It is followed by a Personal Interview round with different panels for different departments. Interview is mostly technical with a few typical HR questions.

Work

Induction day at Tata Steel is where they give you a sneak peak into the reach and working of the company. It is followed by a safety training and then projects are allotted based on your personal preferences. Projects vary from highly research focused to extensive experimental analysis which requires frequent plant visits.

Tata Steel Jamshedpur division is an integrated steel plant where right from the raw material processing to rolling out steel coils is done at the same place. So as an intern, you have the opportunity to work in plants ranging from Pellet plant, Coke Plant to Hot Strip Mill. I was assigned a project in the furnace area of Hot Strip Mill. The aim of the project was to increase the reliability of the Induced Draft( ID ) Fan in one of the three furnaces. It revolved around Vibration Analysis and bearing temperature reduction. I was able to decrease the delay time to close to 50% during my 2 months stint as an intern. Your work experience heavily relies on the guide and plant allotted to you.Working hours are from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, 5 days a week which is subjected to change depending on the attitude of the guide allotted to you. All the workers are very co-operative to the extent that they might consider giving a thought about leaving their work to help you do your own. Work is not very hectic and is easily manageable.

The company provides 3rd AC return tickets from Jamshedpur to respective institutes. The accommodation is also provided in its Graduate Trainee hostels with a double sharing and a single room if you are lucky enough. The food expenses are not covered, though there is a mess in the hostel that can get you through 2 months time. However, Jamshedpur does have good eating options to say the most. Anand, Madrasi, Moti Mahal, Novelty are the places to soothe your taste buds if you are not satisfied with the mess food. There are a lot of street food options available around the hostel area.

The place

Jamshedpur doesn’t have much entertainment options. Dimna lake, Dalma Sanctuary, Jubilee Park and Zoo are the major attractions in and around the city. It also has a multiplex and a bowling alley. And if you find yourself with enough time on weekends, you can pay Kolkata or Puri a visit which are 4 and 8 hours via train respectively.

Takeaways

To sum it up, Tata Steel is a very good option for both the core enthusiasts and the people who want to have a core experience while still pursuing some other career options. Work culture is culled out and people are warm and helpful. The city might seem boring at first but once you get used to it, you may start enjoying its peaceful and slow life. And if you are diligent and hard -working enough, you might end up getting a PPO!

If you have an internship story you’d like to share, get in touch at watchout.iitr@gmail.com