Geotechnical engineering summer placement Review

I enjoyed my placement, and it was a good insight into the world of work.

I regularly received praise from colleagues after small jobs I carried out, and work was given to me by everyone in the office which must have reflected to some degree my level of efficiency and proficiency. However any tasks I was given were small, and I regularly had to ask my supervisor for more work when i was finished, I think that I was given jobs that were a little below my standard, so they could have seen more potential in me.

My supervisor was very kind, approachable and helpful. He made me aware that he was accessible at all times if I needed him and was always emailing around other staff to find other work for me. I could have possibly been given more guidance on what they wanted from me on the placement, and i was only given guidance by my supervisor, not the other management in the office.

About 50% of the time I had a project to work on when i came in the morning, however the other half of the days I would not know what i was doing or there wouldn't be much work for me to do. My supervisor was helpful in these times in emailing his colleagues and finding some bits of work. The placement could have been a bit more planned project wise.

I was given some responsibility in this placement. I had to phone up companies and organise things with projects, and type up technical and factual reports, which would be checked by a more senior engineer. For a first placement and for the lack of experience i had it was probably the right amount of responsibility.

I think it is extremely important to get an insight into what office life is like, and what it is generally like in a work environment. It helps you figure out how to prioritize projects and work, and how to time manage your own work. It was a great placement for helping me realise if engineering is the career I want to advance into, and I got a broad overview of the life of an engineer, with a mixture of office based work and site work involved in the placement.

There was a very friendly atmosphere in the office; all the workers generally got on very well together. The open desk system encouraged you to sit beside different people and interact with different groups. There was also a strong emphasis on getting out for walks and being active during breaks which i though created a very nice working environment. Everyone seemed to really like their work in Atkins.

Overall I do not think that the placement was well organised. I was not informed about receiving a placement position until months after I had applied, and I had to email the HR to see if thee were any updates before they informed me of my interview. When I started the placement there was no organised work for me to do, I was able to help out on lots of different projects but there were also a lot of times when i had nothing to do.

The company sent me out to site, and had me do induction training but no more than this

In order to get a job with Atkins in the future i would need to get a masters degree, which i am considering doing. Prospects of a job with them seems good i think.

There were no other summer placement students, but there were graduates, who i socialized with during lunch periods. However it was hard to have any social gatherings due to where the offices where situated, and the proximity to work in which most people lived. There was one social in the time which i was there, but i know that they are rare occasions

The cost of living in the area was relatively low. This was counterbalanced with the fact that to live near work you had to live outside the city, and travel costs added up. The socializing scene near work was non existent, however, If i were to have taken part in a longer placement I would have positioned myself in one of the nearby cities, which had working and efficient rail services to work.

There was no nightlife in the area which i did my placement.

There was a gym beside the offices, which did deals for workers in the area and also held regular classes, however most classes were on during the lunch period. There were also yoga and walking groups which were open to all workers in the area. I think if the placement was longer i would have become more involved in the local social scene, and it had a more organised social system than a lot of other organisations i have heard of.