Energy Consultant Review

I I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. The staff were very welcoming and treated me like part of the team whilst sharing their work with me, giving me a great insight into the range of projects and tasks ARUP are involved with. They also gave me high levels of responsibility, letting me meet clients and contractors alongside writing reports.

Throughout the majority of my time at ARUP I felt highly valued especially when given tasks with such high responsibility. However, in some instances I did find myself with some spare capacity which made me feel less valued. The team also took their time to get to know me on a more personal level.

I was given a lot of support not just by my mentor and team director but by the whole office. They made me feel comfortable and I felt like I could go and ask anyone from any team a question, which I did on multiple occasions. For example, talking to civil engineers about buildings and planners about city plans.

On some occasions I was very busy due to deadlines leading to extended hours and long days. However, I did enjoy working on these projects. Some days I did not have quite enough work but I was able to fill my time with other activities such as in house training.

In some projects I was given a very high level of responsibility for the duration of some projects including writing reports and being in control of tasks. Although I never felt alone in these roles, knowing I always had someone to turn to.

I learnt some very important professional skills such as client handling and report writing. I think these will help me a lot in the rest of my degree, especially when writing my dissertation. I have also developed other skills including team work and communication which will help me in future group projects and as part of teams in the work place.

The office had a relaxed feel and was a very enjoyable place to work but everyone got the required work done highlighting the ideal work balance. The team set a good example, working hard but still leaving time for coffee breaks, all eating lunches together and going out for dinner on Fridays. This all equated to a great social atmosphere.

The placement was generally well organised which made it very enjoyable and easy for me to fit in. I was appointed a mentor straight away and faced a warm welcome when I arrived on my first day by the HR team who checked up on me along the placement. However, there were some disorganized moments where I was left with little work.

The company invested in me a lot allowing me develop new and existing skills through the in house training programs. I was able to attend training sessions across various disciplines such as air quality and Electrical Engineering which widened by knowledge. I also attended none technical events, including debates discussing the future of ARUP and its diversity levels. ARUP also offered online courses such as ethics training which helped developed me on a personal level. Individuals also invested a lot in me, taking me under their wing, taking their time to show me their work and introduce me to a range of jobs.

I would love to work for ARUP in the future. They offer great job prospects through a competitive graduate scheme and have good opportunities to grow as both an engineer and a professional. They also offer the chance to travel and develop my skills whilst working towards the chartered Engineering status.

There was a very strong social scene within my team and others in the office which made it a very nice place to work. There were office parties and outings to local events such as night markets and walks in the peak district. The company also offered other, more regular events such as Friday lunches alongside the annual football tournament where offices from across the globe compete.

My placement was in the same city where I attend university and therefore I stayed in my student house which I had already paid for so this was relatively cheap. Socialising costs varied between weeks depending on the planned activities and the Friday lunch venues. Costs never prevented me from joining in and all activities were made accessible.

Being a local student I was experienced with the local night life however did not make a large effort to take advantage of this as I have lots of other opportunities. Overall the local night life is great with a range of activities, clubs and bars which we all enjoyed on my last day and on the occasional Friday. I enjoyed spending social time with my team and others in my office.

Alongside the local night life there were plenty of activities to get involved with including staff parties and walks in the peak district. I was also invited to future social activities including a trip to the theater to see a comedian. My team also invited me back for a coffee and other meeting occasions to catch up.