Pros: The company has sites worldwide and many businesses, so you can have a very diverse career within GE without having to work for another company. I also feel GE encourages its employees, interns included, to take ownership of their work and strive to do well.

Cons: It's a large company, so naturally it has more inertia (resistance to change) and it can be slower to achieve things. During my 13-month placement with GE, I had to arrange payment to a supplier, and that took 2.5 weeks to complete because the purchase order was passed around the world. This is probably the case with all big companies, though.

Pros: GE does the most important work in this world and gets very little credit and accolade for what it can and does achieve. You have electricity when you flick the switch; you have GE to thank for that. Greener energy? Those big windmills, guess who? GE that is who! A lot of talented and smart engineers are in there. A lot of people are taking great pride in tackling the challenges out there.

Cons: No leadership and no career path, at least for the offices based in Scotland's central belt. You would think with such a large group, opportunities would abound. Sadly, no. Lots of silos, lots of infighting about budgets. Very rigid structures and frustrating "managers" to deal with. Some say it is because they are badly treated and therefore it trickles down. Well, over the years, I have met and kept in touch with various GE folks (some managers themselves) around the world, and the barriers I have experienced seem pretty localized. So much so that if you mention the name of the site I am based from, the reply from employees based elsewhere might often be: "Oh, I feel sorry for you."

Pros: Global company, with good pay and benefits, as well as opportunities for progression and good depth of knowledge across the company.

Cons: Cultural differences at executive level to working level