Junior Quantity Surveyor Review

I'm really enjoying my placement with National Grid. This is really a job where no two days are the same and there are a number of different challenges in the role. I have also gained a great deal of knowledge from more senior members of my team which I am sure will be very useful for my continuing studies. As well as that, I have been able to visit site regularly which I have enjoyed.

I feel really valued by the other colleagues in my team. I feel like I have learnt something from all of them which I have found very useful. In addition, the office where I am based is really friendly and I have got to know people in other teams really well too. This has been a really positive aspect of the placement.

The support given by the company is excellent. I meet with my line manager regularly to discuss where I am. I'm currently shadowing a more senior QS which I have found to be a really positive experience where I have gained a lot of knowledge. In addition, we are allocated a Business Coordinator who can assist us with day to day admin tasks which has been useful.

I found the balance to be really good at National Grid. I had plenty to do but never felt overwhelmed. There were always opportunities for training on a wide variety of topics. It was good to see how these topics then aligned to our daily job roles within the company.

So far I been given a little bit of responsibility which at this stage of my career has been useful and about the right amount. I have been able to attend a variety of different meetings on a variety of different topics. I have also been given the responsibility of a few different tasks that the team needed to complete.

I think the skills I have gained so far this year will definitely be useful for the rest of my degree and beyond. I feel that National Grid is a company that is really focused on development. I found the training courses organized by the Academy to be really interesting and provide a number of relevant skills which will be very useful for me in the future.

I found the office to have a really good working atmosphere. Whilst everyone was friendly, we all knew that we had a job to get done and this enabled a good deal of work to be done in a day. However, lunchtimes offered a good chance to get to know others in the office which was nice.

The placement year has been really well organized so far, whilst there are a few administrative issues that could do with being "ironed out", this hasn't affected the general operation of the placement year. In addition, the team have been helpful in trying to sort the admin issues out which has been really useful.

I feel that National Grid have invested a great amount into my personal development. A large amount of relevant training is offered by the company. In addition to that, development planning and hitting agreed development goals is always at the forefront of conversations with line managers. Also, there are really good opportunities available for on the job learning which I have enjoyed.

The future employment prospects in National Grid on my programme are excellent. Subject to achieving good performance reviews, I will be able to secure a permanent position with the company and there is a clear route of progression within the company. Therefore, I feel that the ability to progress within the company is here and that is a real achievable target for me.

The social scene within National Grid is good. Whilst on training it was a really good opportunity to get to know the other Industrial Placement students away from a work environment. In addition, usually there are a number of trips where there are others from all over the company there. These offer a really good opportunity to network.

I commute to the office from home so the cost of living for me is very cheap!! However, it is my understanding that the cost of living and socializing in the East Midlands is generally not too bad. However, the commute for me was okay and so it made it alright for me to live at home.

Again, I'm probably not the best person to ask this question to as I commute to the office from home. However with Nottingham, Derby and Leicester not too far away, I would guess that the Nightlife is good as generally Nottingham is regarded as a very good night out for students.

There are a number of different opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. For example, National Grid organizes a Work Inspiration Week as part of the EmployAblity programme which I have volunteered to get involved in this year. In addition, there are opportunities to get involved with volunteering days too.