Summer Internship - Rail Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement with Atkins. They gave me the opportunity and insight into the design of railway infrastructure that was invaluable to my future career. The variety of work that they gave me was great in allowing me to explore all the different aspects related to the job. By the end of the internship I was reluctant to leave as I felt I had settled into the job very well and was loving the work that I was undertaking.

Colleagues at the start were very good at introducing themselves and making me feel very welcome to the company. They helped show me around the office, understand the relevant software that I would be using and most importantly where to make the tea. I felt the atmosphere in the office was very friendly which made coming into work every morning an enjoyable experience. My colleagues allowed me to ask them any question that I had regarding the work I was undertaking no matter how silly the question may sound.

My manager constantly checked how I was getting on, if I had work to be getting on with and showed me very interesting work that he was currently working on. Furthermore, my assigned buddy constantly offered me the guidance of where to find certain documents and files that allowed me to proceed with the task that I had been given.

During the first week work was relatively light with many online modules to complete to understand the principles of Atkins. However, beyond the first week the work became fairly constant and I always had something to be getting on with. There were times that my work load did get low but I just went round the office and asked people if there was anything I could help them with. Therefore, I soon obtained some work to be getting on with which ensured I kept myself busy.

I felt I was given more responsibility than I ever expected before starting with the company. The fact that I got to sign drawings and design that were being issued to the client excited me a lot. Furthermore, I took over some roles of being a project manager where I had to keep communicating with relevant engineers and overseas engineers in order to get jobs issued on time. Therefore, there were many times that I was given significant responsibility which I relished greatly.

The work I undertook is invaluable in my eyes. I was able to put very much the theory that I learnt in University and apply that to real engineering projects, Furthermore, the skills of communicating with other people and establishing key contacts within the industry has already become very useful to me.

The atmosphere in the office was very friendly and full of laughter which helped you get through some of the work that was very tedious. I feel I have gained some friends during my placement, with some people that I saw outside of work on social visits.

There were times that it was unsure what we had to do in terms of paper work for the placement. However, in terms of the work that was given I felt it was very organised with the work given to me at the start less demanding than the work at the end so that I was not overwhelmed at the start.

I was able to attend webinars that were setup by the company as well as access to the various library resources within the organisation. Nevertheless, the most invaluable knowledge that I received was from talking to my colleagues and learning from their experiences.

Atkins is considered to me to be a company that I wish to become a graduate engineer with. I feel the projects that they receive, the working environment and the wealth of experience within the organisation makes Atkins an extremely attractive company to join.

The cost was not a problem for me as I lived at home.

Birmingham nightlife is great and there is always something to do.

I went out with colleagues after work to the pub. I also went and played golf with ine of my other colleagues.