Junior Quantity Surveyor Review

Very much so. I found that the work that I was being asked to undertake was challenging enough to require me to critically think for myself, rather than simply learn a process to follow. I found myself being given great work opportunities which really helped me to develop my understanding of my role and its responsibilities.

From day one of my placement, I always felt 'part of the team' and at the same level as those around me. There were of course times where this wasn't quite the case, but never in a negative way. People were always willing to help me if I ever had any questions, and my opinions were usually held in equal weight to those around me.

A lot. I had quarterly reviews with both my line manager and my business coordinator which allowed me to critically assess my development and identify areas that required further development or targeted plans to obtain exposure to. I would also have monthly 1-2-1s with my line manager which would be more pastorally focused, talking about how I was finding the work I was undertaking and talk about the working relationship with those around me.

Reasonably. Workload would peak and trough within the monthly project review meeting cycles, where I was required to travel, and then there would be a couple of days a month where I would have the opportunity to catch up on filling in my development and review documents. I think it was a fairly well balanced workload on average, it just required me to manage the peaks and troughs effectively.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility, but less accountability. This allowed me to take ownership of the pieces of work that I was undertaking, but I knew that I still had the 'safety net' of having my mentor check through my work, which allowed me to work freely without the worry of doing something wrong.

I am now going back to University part-time to finish my degree whilst I continue to work and I can say that I am finding my studies significantly easier to understand as a lot of the daily roles and responsibilities that I was undertaking on my placement year are now the basis of the remaining modules at University.

Very friendly. I was working under a mentor who would not often work from the office, so I often found myself asking questions to those around me. People were always willing to take out of their day (provided they were able to!) to sit with me and explain something or give me their professional opinion.

I would say the placement was set up pretty well. Given that my cohort was only the second since the start of my particular programme, it was clear from the outset that the Business Co-ordinator had a clear vision for how she wanted me to develop and progress over the year, and that structure was set into the review process.

A huge amount. There was a large emphasis at both the start and end of the placement to take the time to critically understand what we wanted to achieve over the year and whether we had or not. This was not only focused on professional development, but also personal, understanding how we managed to cope with certain situations or periods, and understanding how effective we were.

Very! I am now continuing to work whilst I complete the final year of my degree part-time over two years, and there is a clear development path set out for the coming two to three years as to how I can progress to work into a full-time member of the team.

Amongst fellow placement students not so much, due to the fact that I was based in a different location to the bulk of the others. However, amongst colleagues there was always opportunities to socialize with people outside of working hours, which helped to get to know people better and develop a closer working relationship.

Reasonable. I lived in a small town just outside Nottingham, so I had to travel into Nottingham to play rugby and socialize with other people. The cost of rent was reasonable, given that it is only a small town, and it is just half a mile from the M1.

The town I lived in had no nightlife as such, though it was only a 15 minute drive into Nottingham. The nightlife there is great, there is such an array of options to spend your Saturday night! This became slightly limiting when trying to travel back, but I had made friends in Nottingham so was able to get around this.

Absolutely. There were always 5-a-side games being played most weeks in the vicinity of work, with a tournament held for teams from all across the business. There are always opportunities for volunteering days in the local community, and if not, it is very easy to organize one yourself and it is actively encouraged!