Process Engineer Review

I did not enjoy my placement very much, the job title suggested it would be a technically challenging role however this could not be further from the truth. The work was often very simple and repetitive, requiring no critical thinking or decision making, it often consisted of waiting for work to be given to me which would often involve correcting a document or something along those lines.

My colleagues, especially the ones in my immediate department were polite and courteous, however there were no meaningful connections or friendships made as they often kept to themselves, I felt like I had nothing in common with them and therefore there was not much of a community/family feel to the workplace.

I was given a solid amount of support and training by my supervisors and everything was explained fairly well. Whenever I needed help with something it was always given or I was directed to a resource which could help me.

This would range depending on how much workload the department had. The majority of the time I was not busy at all and would finish all of my work with hours to spare, waiting for someone to give me my next assignment, which became quite boring. Very occasionally I would be very busy in a particular day and would have to stay a little longer than usual.

I don't believe I was given any responsibility whatsoever in order to manage my own projects. There was nothing in which I could make my own decisions over, rather I would be given many small tasks which had to be done a certain way.

I don't believe I developed any meaningful skills during my placement, as the majority of the time I would be editing documents and simply doing data entry, with very little technical knowledge being applied to the work that I was doing. The very little technical knowledge that I did apply was very basic and I already knew how to use it, thus, I learned very little.

It was generally very dull and rather boring. It felt as if everyone was there to do their job and then leave. There was hardly a sense of camaraderie or group socialising as everyone was more of their own individual character.

It was organised to a mediocre standard, there was no intention to create a placement that would be challenging and demanding for the student. Rather, the role is one that is a supplementary position for the department, in order to complete the more boring jobs.

As mentioned before, I don't feel as if I have developed any new skills or developed as an individual during this placement. My role was one which was there to provide assistance to the department by carrying out the mundane work which requires very little decision making or unique skills.

Although my placement year was one which I did not enjoy at all, I am less sceptical regarding future employment within the company, as I believe there are numerous roles across many departments which could prove to be challenging and exciting, unlike my role during the placement.

There were social events organised fairly regularly with the placement students and recent graduates, as well as weekly games of football and touch rugby during our lunch break. So overall the social scene was pretty good during the placement.

The office was in a fairly expensive area of Surrey, so the cost of living and socialising wasn't too great and did become expensive if done frequently.

There were no nightclubs nearby, the closest good ones would be in London. The pubs were decent, although expensive, and they wouldn't stay open until late, so overall the nightlife wasn't good at all.

Social events were well organised by the placement students and involved a variety of activities. Thorpe park was also nearby which was good. Otherwise the area didn't provide much for a variety of activities to get involved in.