Summer Student Review

The placement was really interesting and my first time with a proper job. I did not expect a consultancy firm with a desk job to be so exciting, but every day I was learning something new and working on a variety of projects. I enjoyed the different working tasks and developing new engineering knowledge to apply at University.

I felt valued by my colleagues somewhat. Everyone seemed interested in what I had been up to at the weekend or during the week and they always made an effort to ask. They would always offer assistance or teach me new things. They were always willing to answer any questions I had about the work I was doing or just general things.

I was given reasonable support by my managers and supervisors. They would always make sure I had work to do on a project and would check up on me frequently to ensure I was not struggling. If I had any questions they would happily stop their work to assist me with my problem.

I was reasonably busy every day. I was given plenty of projects tasks to work on throughout each week. This allowed me to change between projects to split up the workload. I also spent time working on a project with the other placement students if I completed all my other work. Any other time was spent developing my understanding of what I was learning.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility. I was not expected to have much as I was only going to be working there for 8 weeks. However, I was given my own control over how I carried out the projects tasks and had to ensure that I had completed on time.

Everything I have learned at this placement I will be able to apply to my future years at university and for any graduate job I am fortunate to get. The knowledge and skills I have developed are not covered in the curriculum for my degree and the only way to get them is through working in the industry.

The office was always full of people working in the various departments. Everyone always seemed to be hard at work and eager to have their tasks completed. There was very little casual conversations or chat between the majority of the employees. However, some groups of people were more friendly than others. Sometimes the office did feel like a library though.

The placement was very well set up. Work, that was suitable for my level of understanding, was left aside to allow me to have the chance. I was provided with a desk and working equipment. However in my first days, no log-in information had been created for me so I was left without any access to work or induction training.

During the placement I received a little training. I was put onto a course, mainly used by people with a major understanding of the topic. However it was really interesting to attend. I was also given detailed explanations on how the engineering industry operated and how the various sectors intertwine with each other.

Working for the organisation after graduation would be extremely exciting. Throughout the placement I was made aware that hard work over the placements and at my university degree would more or less secure me the offer of a graduate job. I am very impressed by this, as usually receiving job offers can be quite difficult.

There was an excellent social scene between the other placement students. Despite the fact we were all based in different offices around the UK, we would always have weekly Skype calls. During these we would complete work on our project and also discuss what we were working on each week. Outside of work we chatted on social media, and when we met up for the training and scholar conference we all socialised together.

The cost of living and socialising was very reasonable. I paid £400 a month for rent, some of this was covered by expenses. Local supermarkets allowed for cheap shopping for living. There were a variety of different restaurants and bars that were all varied in pricing from cheap to expensive.

There was always plenty to do in the evening. There were local bars and restaurants and for weekends a large selection of clubs available. There was also a cinema and various other locations to allow for evening free time to be spent.

I was not made aware of many opportunities to get involved outside of work. I was only informed of one activity for only a certain number of staff. Different offices around the UK offer more social activities away from work time.