Industrial Trainee Reliability Project Engineer Review

I really enjoyed my placement as it offered a flexible opportunity with a lot of different jobs. I was able to choose my jobs to some extent; I was able to choose the jobs I did so that I could try and tailor my jobs to areas which I was interested in and feel would help my with my university course.

I felt like I became part of the engineering team as I was involved inside and outside of work. Within the first month of starting my placement I went on a social meal with my colleagues who allowed me to bond further rather than just being colleagues. I was also given work which would be challenging but I felt that it was not impossible, nor was it made too simple.

We set up regular one to one meetings every two weeks to go over any major questions I had relating to my current projects. My supervisor made it very clear that I could come and see him at any time with questions I had or if I was stuck on certain aspects of the project. Sometimes he would be out of office or busy on site but was keen for me to join him and to be nosey to see what was going on and ask any questions I had about any of the work.

I expected that I would have days which would be very busy and others which would be slower. I would say that on the whole I was not as busy as I thought I would be, however I realised that I did infact have a reasonable amount of work as I was expected to include the fine details which are essential in the pharmaceutical industry.

One of my projects was to investigate and come up with a detailed project budget, location, utility tie ins and equipment list which would ultimately determine the feasibility of installing cooling towers. I feel for a placement student this was quite a large responsibility as it would have a relatively big impact on the budget plan for next year.

I would say that on the whole, my degree was a good foundation and my placement allowed me to learn a different, more practical aspect. For example, before I started my placement I had been taught about the fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, etc. behind pipes and fluids, my placement helped me to build on these systems as I learnt about the different types of pumps and valves and what their applications would be. I was also sent on a training course which took all of my degree knowledge and brought me up to level where I was able to understand how complex systems in a building work, such as the HVAC.

My immediate office was only shared with one other colleague but there was an open plan area outside of here with other colleagues. The atmosphere was friendly yet work focused, I was able to chat to colleagues and we had a joke with each other which from time to time. However, it was an office space which would be fairly quiet at times with people listening to their music and focusing on their work.

The placement was to some extent organised as I was able to receive my company laptop, security pass etc. within the first day or two of starting my placement. Pfizer have had a long running placement scheme in place, however I was the first undergraduate that my department had taken on so my tasks/jobs I was set weren’t particularly well organised.

I expressed an interest in the energy side of engineering so Pfizer were keen to send me on an intense course which allowed me to gain an additional qualification after I passed the exam at the end of the training. This course was advertised at a significant cost and I would not have been able to afford to go on the course, however Pfizer have allowed me to develop and gain knowledge which I would not have been able to gain myself.

Initially I felt there was a reasonable opportunity for employment after my placement, however during my placement one of the departments was forced to close which meant our department had to make a few redundancies. I have only met one person here who has been a placement year student and had only got their job through applying to jobs; she did not receive it at the end of the placement year.

All of the placement year students would live together spread across a few houses which meant that there was a social aspect outside of work. This would involve activities after work during the week and on the weekends. Placement students would socialise with other apprentices as well from within Pfizer.

Although I have only ever rented student accommodation, I paid £400 per month in rent which is what I had expected to pay and this was around the normal rate expected for Ramsgate. I think based on the amount I was paid by Pfizer; I was able to comfortably afford this as well as socialise without having to worry about when the next pay day was.

Ramsgate has mainly local pubs or restaurants with only two venues open later. About a 10 minute drive away is a large shopping centre which has other activities such as a cinema, bingo, minigolf and a few bars. Also near there, in Broadstairs, there are plenty more bars which are open late; with only a short 15 minute taxi ride back to Ramsgate it is sometimes better to go out elsewhere rather than Ramsgate.

There were a couple of events that were organised outside of work with colleagues such as meals or drinks but these normally only took place to celebrate events such as Christmas or birthdays. I did however organise events with other placement students such as paint balling or nights out on the weekends.