Placement Engineer Review

It was a bit also to start with, and very ambiguous. One my first day I didn't feel like they had anything planned for me - but I suppose that what starting a new job is like! Once settled in, I really became part of the team and work began to flow my way. They also listened to what I wanted to get from this placement and ensured it happened. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this placement.

When I had the opportunity to work on site for 6 weeks, I really began to fit in! Everyone was very welcoming and showed me the ropes. Due to the he nature of this placement, I was spending my whole week with them as we were working away from home and staying in a hotel so this really helped me to feel like they're family.

The guidance I was given was superb (although I didn't realise it at the time). For most things if I was stuck, I could easily ask a question, as I was told no question is a stupid question. But on specific task that were challenging and I needed to learn, they'd watch me sweat it out attempting to find a solution, but we very happy to give me a hint and point me in the right direction if I just simply asked.

In the first couple of days I found myself with nothing to do, which was really frustrating. I'd have to keep asking if anyone has any work I could get stuck in with. However, after a few days I got my hand stuck in prepping a tensor, this was rest fun, however I didn't have any knowledge of what I was doing, so I was constantly asking questions. This became a problem because there person in charge of me was very busy with meetings, so I couldn't get the answers right away and be stuck with work. In the 6 weeks on site I had the perfect amount of work, if I found myself finishing one task, there'd be another one waiting.

As my placement progressed, I gained more responsibility. Towards the end of my placement I was given my own set of keys to the site! This allowed me to arrive early to open up the site for everyone to come in, I never thought this would have happened in my placement!

This placement didn't relate to my degree directly, so everything I was leaning was new, and I had no prior knowledge to this job! However I have learnt very important life skills, that I will have to apply in a work environment such as project management, interacting with people. I received very little official training, and when trainjng was needed it would just happen on the spot.

I really enjoyed working in the site office, lots of banter is thrown across the room! Everyone was very happy to be disturbed if I needed help. However in the design office it was very quite and wasn't much of a atmosphere,I certainly struggled with not being comfortable to talk.

The initial contact with HR when setting up my placement was terrific, they even tried to place me close to home! However a week before I was due to start, I was told I'd have to travel 2.5 hours to a different place! This put me know edge a little. For the first couple of days I didn't really have much to do, I felt like they didn't even know I was coming. However work soon started coming my way.

The future is looking very appealing. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on site and this must have been shown through my good work as I have a very generous report writing up on me and a offer has been talked about. The graduate prospects look very good as well so I'll definitely be having a look once I graduate.

I did not actually meet any other placement students throughout the 9 weeks I was with Kier. However this is due to the nature of where I was working, I think if there was another placement student I wouldn't have had the opportunities I had. So overall I wasn't too phased about being the only placement. I never felt out of place.

All of my living expenses were paid for by Kier! This meant it was cheap as chips. I'd have £30 dinner allowance so I was fed very well each night, and this has certainly shown! The hotels I was put up in were very nice as well, I always looked forward to returning to work for week.