Summer intern civil engineer Review

I enjoyed my placement as it was very varied and I had the opportunity of seeing many aspects of the business. I felt like I was busy most of the time, with tasks I both enjoyed and disliked. Overall I was happy with my placement and learnt a lot throughout.

Communication was very easy with my colleagues and they were very willing to help. Everyone was very friendly. When my line manager went on holiday for two weeks, my colleagues made sure that I was busy and I worked with different people who gave me day tasks to get an idea of what their team did.

My senior line manager was always available if I needed help and gave me a very good introduction to the company. He would see me every few weeks to see how I was doing and if I was making the most out of my placement, also giving me advice for ICE chartership.

I would you usually have 4 out of 5 days which would be busy, often having one day a week where I would have nothing to do. Most of the time I would happily ask my line manager to give me work and he would have something for me. Tasks were relatively short and would never take more than a day.

I was given several tasks during my placement which would require some responsibility, often overseen by my line manager. I was responsible everyday for going to different sites, organising visits and trainings. I also would decide what I would do during the week to make the most out of my placement.

As I completed a variety of tasks I worked on many skill sets. This included surveying, looking at drawings, calculations and others. I also completed several trainings which will be very useful in the future when working on construction sites. Skills and work I completed will also help me work towards chartership

I worked in two different offices, the main office was very big with many people and had a good atmosphere, often very busy. On site I would be in an office of about 2-3 people which was good for chatting and getting to know people. Also easier for asking for work and keeping busy.

The communication with HR before starting my placement was poor. They told me quite late where my placement would be and were slow at replying to emails. They did not give me details on where my placement was situated until very late therefore I did not get accommodation close to my site. Once placement started, everything was well organised

The company did invest in me quite a lot. I completed many trainings and site visits. People gave up their time to help me and explain how the company worked. I was also given a company car, with paid expenses and also had paid accommodation as I could not live at home.

Every year I complete summer placements with Costain in several locations and sectors of construction to get varied experience. This is good for giving an idea of what sort of sector I would like to work in. The idea is that when I graduate with a masters in civil engineering I will join the Costain graduate scheme.