Undergraduate Review

I rather enjoyed my placement - there were very few days where I would get home and not feel like I had achieved something or had made good progress. Overall, I feel that the year has been very enjoyable (far more enjoyable a year than I hear my peers back at university have been having, too) and am glad I decided to do a placement at MBDA.

I feel I was valued quite a bit by my colleagues, as I made key contributions to a number of different works and so helped out every member of my team at some point or another. Thanks and feedback weren't ever held back, so when I had helped out a colleague with something they would otherwise not have had time to do they were sure to let me know that my assistance was appreciated.

I have had a fair amount of support and guidance from my managers, as they understood that I needed to ask a multitude of questions about the company and all aspects of work and never made me regret asking. Support was generally forthcoming when I asked for it, and my managers checked up on how I was getting on in general at a good frequency.

On most days I found myself very busy, but not quite so busy that I felt like it was too much. I'd rather have more things to do that nothing to do, and usually someone in the team had more work for me if I found myself needing more. The work amount matched my needs fairly well while keeping me on my toes.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility, having to produce a number of graphics, tables and presentations that would be seen or presented to the customer. I was given the responsibility of writing or contributing to large reports, all of which would be viewed by the whole team and some of which were submitted to the customer as deliverables.

Immediately upon returning to university, the skills I have developed in writing large reports will assist me in writing reports and my dissertation - I have also improved my researching techniques which will help greatly in my degree. Primarily, however, the interpersonal, communications and presentations skills I have learned will help massively in my degree and in work for the rest of my life.

The atmosphere in the office was quite relaxed - it was never loud, as people were busy working, but there were plenty of conversations and you never felt as if you couldn't turn and talk to someone about anything. The people in the office were rather friendly and approachable, which led to a very comfortable working environment.

The placement itself was well set up - however events outside the control of myself or the company meant that there were issues and delays with the beginning of my placement. Having looked at the placement and the other placements within the company though, I have to say that the placements are set up very well - even in my case, I had a lot of support and communication from the company's HR department during the start of my placement.

As a year-long placement, I received relatively little formal training during my placement; most of what I needed to learn to carry out my job I was taught on the job by members of my team. The exception to this was at the beginning of the placement, where all the placements and people on the graduate scheme spent a week in a hotel and on the company's other site, receiving various teaching covering the company, a number of HR items, team-building, presentation skills and communicating in the workplace.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are rather appealing; I have enjoyed my time here and the roles available within the company are very varied, with a decent ability to move between roles depending on desired career path. The graduate scheme does a good job of moving graduates around within the company, ensuring that they get a good view of different areas and can find a role that suits them best.

The social scene was fantastic - among the other placements and graduates, in addition to eating lunch together, we regularly meet up outside of work hours and go for meals, bowling, nights out in Bristol city centre. Even with my colleagues in my team, we go out at least once a month for a meal and a few drinks, so there are always stories to tell and laugh about the day after in the office!

The cost of living and socialising was not as expensive as I had initially feared upon arriving in Bristol, but is higher than I am used to back home, coming from further north in the country. In comparison to rent in other cities, my rent here seemed about average (though still more expensive than my rent at university) and meals and drinks were about average too.

In the immediate vicinity of work, there was very little nightlife, as the office was in a suburban area. However, a short (~20min bus ride / 4min train journey) into the centre of the city led to an absolutely fantastic nightlife - Bristol is a fantastic city with so much variety there's something for everyone.

There appeared to be plenty of opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work - there were local gyms, and many people I knew at work regularly took part in 5-a-side football leagues and also the local squash league. I took up kickboxing with a friend, while others went climbing, cycling and running. A colleague of mine participated in other sporting events such as local triathlons, for example.