Placement Mechanical Engineer Review

My whole placement was a really enjoyable and rewarding experience. From my first day on the job I was immediately assigned a team to work with who were working on a very interesting large scale project. Immediately I was made to feel welcome and valued. Throughout the internship I was able to take on more exciting and challenging work as I gained greater knowledge and responsibility.

The office was a great environment to work in largely due to the number of friendly and talented individuals working there. I was immediately made to feel like a valued member of my team and was able to contribute by completing work that was actually important for the project and wasn't just given stuff just to keep me occupied, I was given real responsibility and help throughout and was given exposure to a wide variety of the work done by Hoare Lea.

Every placement was assigned an immediate supervisor who was a graduate engineer. This was very beneficial as it provided me with support and guidance thoughout. Also it allowed me to get a much better idea of what a graduate job at the company would involve and the skills and knowledge required. My graduate supervisor couldn't do enough to help me. Additionally there were chances to present to senior management and also meet with partners both in formal feedback meetings and also more informally in a social setting.

Overall there was a very good work balance. Initially I felt I was doing less work than I liked but this very quickly picked up to a good level once I learned the basics and proved my ability with the first few tasks. Around deadlines there was often a lot for the team to do and I enjoyed being able to help on a real variety of work often outside my discipline and to get exposure to different areas.

I was given a good amount of responsibility particularly by the end Of my time there. I saw the amount of responsibility I was given increase thorough out my time there which was very rewarding and by the end I really felt like I was a real important part of the team.

The whole placement was a fantastic insight into the industry and left me feeling more prepared and energised about my degree and future career. I have learned so much both technical knowledge but also the so called soft skills which are really important in industry. The placement has definitely reaffirmed my commitment to pursuing a career in engineering.

There was a really warm and welcoming environment in the office. Everyone was really friendly and always more than happy to help and offer advice. The office itself has a really nice inclusive open plan layout. People are always happy to chat and there are always events going on like Pizza Friday or office summer parties.

The internship was pretty well structured. I was assigned a clear direct supervisor who was fantastic throughout my time there. There was also regular chance for review and feedback with senior management. I was given a project log to complete during my time at the company and this acted as a very useful way to track my work and development and will be useful going forward in my career.

There were regular seminars from speakers across the industry which I was encouraged to attend and from which I learnt a lot. I was also given access to a variety of high end software such as Revit, Autocad and Hevacomp. All I if which I hade never previously had experience with but now feel comfortable using.

Placement students often join the company as graduates after they finish their studies. So it can be a really good way of getting into the industry. Hoare Lea has an award winning Initial Development Program that sounds very well structured and should provide a clear path to chartership. Beyond that there seemed to be plenty of employees who had risen to senior or executive engineer pretty quickly after joining. While many of the partners started off as graduate engineers at Hoare Lea

There are social secretaries who organise many events throughout the years from office parties or pub quizzes to the monthly Pizza Friday or one off events like trips to the cricket. Also there is an office football team and an office softball team both of which definitely welcome placement students on to the team.

I was working in London so as you would expect it was very expensive to go out most places. Therefore the free food and drinks at events such as pizza Friday was much appreciated!

Again being London there are probably few places in the world with a more vibrant and active nightlife but the only problem is you have to be prepared to pay the cost premium.

Again there were a lot of social events going on in the office and the numerous sports teams to join. Additionally there was a strong bond between all the placement students and we would often go out after work. Other colleagues were also very friendly and would often invite me to join some of them for a drink after work.