This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I really enjoyed my placement with Air Products, was much better than I could have imagined and felt like I really contributed to the company during my time there.
During my year I built up a really good relationship with all my colleagues and could ask them for lots of help when I needed it. Towards the end of the placement I was able to help them with their work on occasions which I really enjoyed doing as they helped me so much early on.
The support and guidance given by my supervisor was great. They were always there to help if I needed it or got stuck on what I was doing, but also allowed me some independence on some of the work I was completing.
During the year there were times when we were busier than other times, but I think that is to be expected in any company. When it was busy I really enjoyed the faster pace of things and the satisfaction of completing work within deadlines.
I think I was given a good amount of responsibility during my placement. I would not have liked to have too much responsibility as I think that would have meant the pressure was a lot greater. However I did feel that I had responsibility during my year, especially in the latter half.
This year has been such a great experience for me and I feel that I have learnt so many transferable skills this year that are going to help me not only in my final year at uni but in my future career. I feel in a much stronger position going into my final year, especially design project work having completed this year. Also I think my confidence has really grown this year which I think will also help going into final year and when I graduate.
The Company
I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the office as it was quite relaxed, however when we were busy we would concentrate and get on with the work. Everyone was very helpful in the office and encouraged you to ask questions when completing new pieces of work. There was a great support network in my team, so I did not feel like I was on my own.
The placement scheme was very well structured at the company and you could tell it was something that they had done time and time again. As well as the placement scheme there is the graduate scheme and both the placement students and the graduates had social events and work events to help you develop as an engineer.
Although I did not receive any formal training, I learnt a lot of new things on the job which I think is much more helpful and reinforces the concepts straight away. My manager especially invested a lot of her time to help me complete work and improve my understanding. Every month or so we would have technical sessions where we could pick a topic and she would help me and a graduate in the department learn more about that topic and the background of some of the work that we were completing.
Sports and Social Club
Subsidised/Company Gym
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Towards the end of my placement with Air Products, I was offered the opportunity to come back after graduation and come onto their graduate scheme. This was really good and I of course accepted this offer as coming back to the company is a really good opportunity as I have enjoyed this year and have seen how successful their graudate scheme is.
The Culture
The social scene was really good amongst the graduates and placement students with a variety of different events run throughout the year so there was something for everyone. I also had a really good relationship with the people that I worked with so would often socialise with them outside of work as well.
Being closer to London than I am usually used to, the cost of living is more expensive, but you get used to this and also have more income than you would as a student. I lived in a shared house and rented a room in it which was reasonable. If you want to live alone it would be quite expensive.
Although where I was based in Hersham in Surrey did not have any nightlife, you are close enough to London to make the most of that. Also Kingston is really nearby where a lot of students live so there is a lot more to do there if you want to.
The graduate and placement student community at Air Products was good and they organised different social events. There was also sports clubs that you could get involved with at lunchtime if you wanted to.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Chemical Engineering
South East
August 2016