Human Factors Undergrad Placement Review

Working in the Human Factors team allowed for work on many varied projects. The actual specifics are very dependent on the project at the time and you may be involved in multiple at once. You can expect lots of meetings and emails as well as work such as user centred design and cockpit assessments to name just a couple.

There are many existing skills I developed in this placement. Teamwork is very necessary in almost every project. Time Management too is important if you are involved in multiple projects at once. I have certainly improved in my use of general office applications as well such as Excel and PowerPoint from the sheer amount I either started or edited in a team. On the placement, I also did learn about a task analysis software.

Yes. In my case, one of the projects I was on during the whole year involved myself and one other HF team member who was very busy most of the time. Therefore a good chunk of the work was my responsibility to get done. Short answer is - it is dependent on your situation/project but for the most part they are not afraid to give you responsibility.

The HF team were fantastic for support. My line manager was always very busy but she always made time for me to talk though both project and other queries. Equally, the rest of the team never came across as too intimidating to ask questions to. They were very friendly and open and happy to help if I ever needed it.

Hardworking. I was always amazed and intimidated by how most people seemed in their element with what they spoke about. This, I imagine, comes with a lot of time and experience but also passion. Besides that, most people I interacted with were friendly and laidback despite their busyness. The graduates have a lot of social events going on all year round and the general company has many events addressing and discussing various social issues etc.

I enjoyed my placement very much. Besides providing me with a very novel working experience, where I learned and worked on many varied projects, it also helped me with a lot of personal development. The whole process was a giant leap out of my comfort zone but in doing so has forced improvement in my social and professional skills. In the end, I know this placement will be incredibly valuable in my career goals.

Yes

It really is a great opportunity so do your homework. Make sure you are really interested as it does shine through in the application stages and also try to imagine what it is they are looking for when thinking about how you can apply your already existing skills and experience. Also, do not worry about being nervous. We have all been there and so have the interviewers.