Summer Placement Review

I found the environment and people I was working with enjoyable and when I was given project work that too was enjoyable. Unfortunately there were periods in which I had little to do.

I felt that some colleagues utilised my skills better than others. When I was given project work I felt that it was valuable to the company.

I was given lots of guidance on the projects that I was given. Although at times I had to wait to be given guidance when colleagues were out of office.

When I had a project I was busy however there were many days during which I had to find productive work for myself. I used this time to improve my maths and programming skills.

For the project I was given I had responsibility for managing my own time and learning how to efficiently use the software I was given. I was also asked to look after a work experience student for a few days, during which time I taught him how to use the software I was using.

I feel that I have learnt many valuable skills during my placement like managing my own time and productivity. I also feel that the experience of working in an office will be very valuable after my degree. Overall I feel that this was a valuable experience.

It was good humored, hard working and friendly.

There were no projects organised for me prior to my placement which caused me to have many days with no work to do. When I arrived space had been allocated for me in the office and I had good IT support. I also knew who and where to report to and was able to speak to my manager before starting my placement. The paperwork I received before starting my placement seemed to be designed for full time employees and so was it was difficult to determine how to answer some of the questions.

There were few opportunities for this in my time in the company. However I was invited to meeting that included health and safety briefings. I was also given access to the Siemens new employee resources which were very useful in gaining knowledge about the company and their values.

Whilst this particular unit of Siemens is not where I would ultimately see myself working Siemens is a very large organisation and I would like to experience a different facet of the organisation.

There were no other placement students in the office while I was there and there were no social events that I was aware of while I was there.

I lived with my parents throughout my placement as so this is not applicable.

I worked in my home town so I knew what the nightlife was like prior to my placement and it is not something that interests me.

It's difficult to know since I was living at home so I picked up my pre-university social life