Technical Support Engineer Review

The placement at Focusrite was a great opportunity and experience throughout the year. For a start there are very few solid placements schemes in this industry in the UK and the competition for them is large. The day-to-day work of all of the placements, including mine was essentially what everyone else was doing so it is genuine experience.

The ethos at Focusrite Novation is very much one of family. Being a small company not too long ago means almost everyone know everyone. Even though the company has expanded and is also global, there is still a small company feel to it both within departments and in the wider company.

Through monthly targets and goals as well as team statistics this allowed for something to strive to in terms of performance. The support for this is essentially that you can get out of your time at Focusrite pretty much whatever is relevant to the role. Other member software the team also provide guidance in terms of development and training.

The whole company is pretty much always busy to a degree with new products, existing products, website issues, promotional events/material so it's very much non-stop. I was lucky that in my role we had a constant stream of work but this varied between different work that kept you on your toes.

I was given as much regular responsibility as any other full time employee. In terms of lacking responsibilities there was more I would to have been involved in, in terms of projects. However, projects at the company typically last for 1 year+ so this would be an awkward task to manage. I was also allowed to take responsibilities further than some of my coworkers and work industry events outside of my normal duties.

The experience and work ethic gained on my year allowed me to graduate with a first class degree. This was a combination of the skills I'd learnt and general idea of the industry. The hard work I put in on my placement also allowed me to gain a full time role before the end of my final year of university.

The office atmosphere is great tight many departments having a good relationship with each other. Even between departments there is a great atmosphere. The atmosphere can become somewhat stressed occasionally usually around product release or projects but the outcome is usually worth it and enjoyable over all. The company social and other events also add to this.

The placement was very well set up and organised. Compared to other companies and experiences the Focusrite process was very good. The placements at the company have been carried out for many years and this definitely shows as placements are very much a vital part of the team and are never left without work.

The company invested much time in my training and development allowing me to pursue my interests and develop skills in areas I was interested I pursuing. They also employed me freelance during my final year of university which allowed me to keep progressing with paid work as well as keeping in touch with the companies development.

The future prospects are very appealing, in my own situation I was employed before graduating my degree in addition to the freelance work. Other ex placement students have also gone on to progress at the company moving into managerial roles and development between departments as well as up in the company.

There is a great social scene at the company set up by a love for the work and mutual interests as well as social events set up by the company. In terms of social scene amongst fellow placement students, this is not as strong as other companies as as far as I was aware placement students don't work together often.

The cost of living in the are was fairly expensive but it could end up being cheap if you looked around. The pay from the placement just about covers living costs in most cases with a little bit of saving. The cost of socialising is okay, not the cheapest but certainly not the worst.

The nightlife leaves a lot to be desired. However, company social events and many people living locally does help a lot.

There are plenty of opportunities such as trade shows, in store events, promotional videos and other industry events.