Assistant Quantity Surveyor Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my role as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor for E.ON Community Energy. The responsibilities of the role were challenging and varied and I soon became an integral part of a dedicated team working in West London. I was provided with the opportunity to work independently on my own parts of the project which provided me with freedom to control my own time management and meet deadlines as necessary. There was always guidance and help available if ever I felt I needed some support which enhanced my experience overall.

Over the course of my 11 months in the Assistant QS role I developed close working relationships with my project team and felt like a valued and useful colleague. Across the wider business I found that people were keen to know the work I was doing and interested to know more about the project's progress. Fellow colleagues and management often provided me with positive feedback and the internal rewards system was used to acknowledge good work on a regular basis. I felt that good work was appreciated and rewarded, some businesses feel like they only give negative feedback, EON is not one of them.

Having entered the role with little construction experience and even less construction commercial management experience I was really pleasantly surprised by the support and guidance on offer at EON. I worked directly under a very experienced Quantity Surveyor (20+ years experience) who was more than happy to provide me with answers to all of my questions (some of which must have been very stupid right at the start!). The Senior Quantity Surveyor we reported to, as well as the Assistant Commercial Manager and Commercial Manager were also willing and happy to provide guidance and give me their time when I needed it. The Commercial Manager for Community Energy stayed late after work to help me with a particularly challenging situation in February 2017 which I was very appreciative of.

As I begun this placement with very little experience, my first 6 to 8 weeks were quieter than I would experience as I progressed through the role. Training and getting to know the team took priority to begin with as well as trying to understand the project I would be working on (a multi-million £ district heating and cooling scheme). As the role progressed I became more and more busy as I was given more responsibility. After around 3 months in the role, I was given sole responsibility for preparing and reporting on the project's financial status as well as attending meetings with the client and sub-contractors. This increased my workload but I very rarely felt that I was being given too much to work on and found a very positive work/life balance.

I was surprised with the level of responsibility I was given within this role. I quickly became the main point-of-call on the project for matters regarding finances and any contractual queries. I arranged and made payments to sub-contractors and suppliers and was directly involved with, and attended, project meetings internally and with parties outside of EON. Despite my title being Assistant Quantity Surveyor, people quickly referred to me just as the Quantity Surveyor for the project and I took on many of the roles and main QS would have. This role far exceeded my expectations of the responsibilities an undergraduate placement student would have and I was very grateful to have been given those opportunities.

I am currently studying for an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering with Sustainability. While the project I worked on had more of a focus on Mechanical and Electrical engineering there are numerous experiences that have benefited me, not only for when I return to university, but in later life as well. I was given the opportunity to be involved with contractual management, financial planning and management, project management, on-site experience as well as meeting a whole host of new connections that I would not have had otherwise. I have gained significant experiences to help me in becoming a Chartered Engineer or Chartered Quantity Surveyor in the future which I would not have had if I had not done this placement. Further, I have been offered a part-time role while I complete my final year of study at university and a full-time Quantity Surveyor role following that. It is very possible that this placement has genuinely changed my life, I have many future possibilities because of it.

The main London office was often busy and hard working - the office was not "fun" per se but I did not expect it to be. That being said, my colleagues were all friendly and happy to help in the office. The atmosphere was positive and I enjoyed being among everybody. In the second-half of my placement I spent more and more time in the office on-site at the project which enabled me to work closer with both the Project and Site managers. Again, the atmosphere was good and I enjoyed my time here.

The placement was well organised. I attended an introductory day with fellow undergrads on my first day of work in July 2016 which clearly explained the overall path for the placements and throughout my time with EON days were arranged for the undergrads to share their experiences. My line manager worked together with HR to help shape the placement to suit how I was performing and also tailor it to help me gain additional experience should I continue full-time later. I was not forced to follow a linear learning path and was given freedom as to what I wanted to get out of the year. I found that I got out as much as I put in in this regard and am thankful there are future opportunities for me.

I attended numerous training events throughout the placement year for role-specific activities as well as general training such as Health and Safety. EON encouraged me to become a student member of a number of institutions relevant to my role and will further support me in the future with becoming a Chartered QS. There is scope to partake in a Masters degree in the future, funded by the company provided it is in an area of education relevant to the role. Most importantly, people within the company lent me with their time and experience, I think this truly is the best investment.

Following my placement I have received a part-time role while I complete my final year of study which is a truly excellent outcome. Additionally, I have an option within my contract to join the company in a full-time role after I graduate in 2018. My employment prospects within EON are very positive and I go into my final year knowing I will be employed afterwards which is a huge weight off my shoulders.

The undergraduates within EON were split amongst all of the national offices. Therefore some offices and locations had more of a social scene than others. My experience in London was that there were few other undergrads so the social aspect was slightly limited. However, I was living near to my university and was able to keep in touch with other friends so this did not negatively impact me. From what I have heard about other offices, generally the social scene was very good but the London office was smaller than most and therefore had fewer undergrads in one place at the same time.

I lived in Ealing and worked in Farringdon - Central London. As was expected the cost of living and socialising was very high but I knew this was going to be the case before I started as I attend university in Greater London. When going out with colleagues, managers and seniors would often buy drinks so I was able to go out a number of times throughout the year without breaking the bank! London is expensive, that's just a given - it's not a poor reflection in the company that going out cost money.

I worked in Central London so had access to a huge number of bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs. The nightlife is fantastic.

I didn't get involved with much outside of work aside from socialising and going for drinks with colleagues. There were some events put on in other offices. I know to some people that this is important but it wasn't for me. I did my own activities with my own friends outside of work and didn't feel that I needed to be attending activities with colleagues outside of the office.