Vacation Student Review

The work itself was mostly enjoyable, and the team I was working with made my time there really enjoyable.

The work environment was very friendly, and all of the team were welcoming from day one.

The placement allowed me to learn a great deal about the working of an engineering consultancy and I was given a large amount of support when it came to any new concepts or using a new program. This was good for me as a first year student, as they assumed little prior knowledge and so I was always confident following any help on new areas.

Most days I would have a good amount of work to be getting on with. There would be times where I would get stuck on a project, and the person supervising me may be busy or away. This meant at times I wouldn't have much to get on with, but this was often sorted out pretty quickly!

After a week or so I was given quite a lot of individual tasks to work on. By the end of my placement I had my own section of a project, and organised a couple of my own site visits with another student. I feel I was given the right amount of responsibility given my experience, and always felt comfortable with the responsibility I was handed - they didn't put me out of my depth!

The experience was invaluable, not only for making my CV much more competitive when it comes to applying for a full year placement, but also because it showed me how a lot of the concepts taught at university can be applied to real world situations.

The atmosphere was fun, but still hard-working. A lot of the more senior members in the team obviously had a lot less time to chat, but still would seem to make time to have conversations with you. The overall feel of the office was really welcoming as well, with a lot of the placement students and grad students going to lunch as a big group.

The work placement was organised really well, with only one occasion when I first arrived of my supervisor leaving the next day for holiday, and so for a small amount of time I was unsure what tasks I was going to be doing. However, the rest of the team soon ensured I had plenty to get on with.

The team were always really happy to take significant portions of time to help train me in new software and new ideas. This has been really useful during my second year studies at University, and also in giving me a good understanding of a lot of the CAD and analysis tools used by the company.

I will be returning to the company for my year placement at the end of studying this year. I am looking forward to this having really enjoyed my previous time at the company!

A lot of the grad students and other placement students were really welcoming. We would often go to lunch as a big group. Pub of the month was also a good fun occasion on a Friday where a large amount of the office would go for a drink at the end of the week once a month.

Due to Bristol being fairly South and an expensive area to live in general, living costs were fairly high but more than manageable. Drinks weren't too expensive on nights out. The cost of living that shocked me most was probably transport, with a daily 10 minute train journey costing me around £300 in total for the two months that I worked there, sometimes with a bus journey on top of that, if I didn't fancy a 30 minute walk.

I lived in Bath, so the night-life is a lot smaller. It was still really fun though, as I have a good group of mates living here, and in the end the size of the club doesn't really matter to me. The main difference to bigger cities is that club nights tend to start and finish earlier, with most closing at 2 or 3 depending on if it is a week night or weekend.

There were a few socials that ran, but I was only around for a couple of months, so more exciting socials and activities that were organised a long time in advance were difficult to get involved in.