Summer student Review

It was very interesting to learn about the roles of engineers in the office and how projects work, however I did not get to do much engaging work myself. I spent the majority of the 8 week placement inputting data and comparing spreadsheets. I enjoyed learning about new software though.

Everyone was very friendly and inclusive so I made a few new friends and contacts however, I was not given much work so from a non social point of view I didn’t feel as valued. I understand that as I have only done one year of university I am not as trustworthy with important work it would be nice to have a go.

Managers usually responded to questions, emails and messages but were not particularly involved in my time with the company. I did not have anyone checking up to make sure I was doing useful or engaging work. I found most work myself by asking people around the office if they had anything I could do/ help with.

Some days I had multiple people asking me to help/ do work however some days especially when I was injured and working from home I had very little to do and had to seek out/ find stuff to do myself. I understand people are very busy but it would be better to have a system in place for placement students

The work I was doing was often checking other people’s work before it could be sent off which is quite a high responsibility. Doing some calculations also was quite important although my calculations were checked after I had done them of course. A lot of work was just inputting data but the occasional bit of data analysis was very helpful for the project leader.

My skills in excel and revit particularly have increased majorly. I did some calculations using eurocodes which I have not yet studied at university so this will have been very helpful and put me ahead of my peers. However I did not do much technical work so my skills in that area will be lacking.

As it is summer a lot of people were on leave so it was pretty quiet. There are a few different projects going on in one office so people are sat in the project groups. It is rare to engage in people not involved in a project you are working on unless you know them separately

There is no set system to integrate a summer student into the office. I was suggested a project to work with but no further guidance in what I would be doing. I spent a lot of time asking for work to do and did not get to do much challenging technical work

I went to talk about career progression each week but they were not tailored specifically to me but a whole audience of people and were not compulsory. These talks were very interesting and useful. I watched many training videos about life in the office and health and safety and overall life in the company.

I understand that although this placement hasn’t been as full filling as I had hoped the reasons for this are understandable due to work load of other professionals in the office, the time I have spent here and my own lack of knowledge due to only being at uni for 1 year. I have spoken to people doing their year placement who have enjoyed it much further and felt it a very useful time so I look forward to my future in the company. Especially after spending a whole year integrated into the team.

I was given a buddy on arrival who became a great friend and introduced me to people in the office similar in age and interests. From this I was able to make a good group of friends including spending time together outside of working hours. This included apprentices, placement students and graduates.

I was lucky to find accommodation with a family friend in an ideal location at a very good rate. The office provides free parking which was also very helpful. The surrounding area is a little more expensive than in my home/ uni town but that is to be expected near to London.

I didn’t spend a lot of time out of the office in the area as I went home every weekend so never went out at night in the area. I went to a few pubs/ bars which was pleasant but I cannot comment on nightlife specifically myself. Restaurants were also good.

I was invited to see a cricket match with people from the office but as stated above I spent my weekends at home so I could not attend the cricket as I had a long 3 hour journey to make. There are many sports and other social clubs advertised which I was unfortunately to busy and injured to take part in.