Vacation Student Review

Overall, I enjoyed the experience of working in Arup as part of the town planning team. Working in a professional office environment was a new experience and was really interesting because I was able to interact and engage in many interesting conversations, especially with people in different professions, such as engineers. Although, at times it could feel a little lonely because surrounding colleagues would more often than not have headphones in to speak to clients and so it was hard to judge whether they were free to engage in conversation/network with people.

I was given the same task everyday for the first few days that I was there (extracting and inputting data onto an excel spreadsheet) and I had little interaction with colleagues so I felt slightly like an inconvenience but thereafter I was working alongside another colleague and was given different tasks to do. In addition, it was arranged that three recent graduates from another branch of the company would come and speak to me which was extremely valuable.

The first few days as I was given the same task to do I was not given too much support, I was left to be independent. However, overall if I was stuck on something or had any questions to ask there was always someone willing to help me and additional materials were provided outside of the workplace, via email for example, to enhance my knowledge on certain subjects.

The skills developed definitely assisted me in my degree. For example, I had a module about the values and theory of planning in practice which in summary was about how planners in the workplace act versus how they may prefer to act and as I had this work experience in arup I was able to reflect on my time there to use comparisons. In addition they have helped me to understand office environments which is useful for future job prospects.

As stated previously, the first few days consisted of doing the same task and so it didn’t feel very well structured. However, after that there was good structure to my days as tasks were set out clearly and what time I should complete each one by. The work load was also manageable.

There was a positive, hardworking, professional atmosphere in the office at all times throughout my time there. Colleagues from different teams would often engage and have chats with one another which was nice to see. In addition, even the cleaning staff had good relationships with the arup staff, there was a mutual respect which is something I find commendable.

As I was only there for 1 week I personally did not receive any training or development, it was more of an insight into what it would be like working there/shadowing the relevant people. However the people I shadowed gave me their contact number and were more than willing to help me with my studies and anything in the future.

The insight was very useful in order for me to understand what it would be like to work within arup full time. Even though I was only there for a week, I was given various tasks, attended a Skype meeting, discussed daily work tasks with the qualified staff and attended a meal with the town planners. This showed me that everyday would be different and that there are a variety of tasks involved.

I was able to observe the company culture during my work experience and it was nice to see people from different professions engaging with one another, helping one another and genuinely seeming to be friends. In addition, the arrangement of the recent graduates talk showed me that the company are passionate about helping their employees.

There was just enough content covered in the week I was there in order for me to grasp what it would be like to work there, or in a similar role in a different company in the future. I think a longer placement would have enabled a fairer, more rounded judgement because I would have likely been able to do more tasks outside of the office, such as site visits for example. Overall, the content was valuable for my judgement.

As a vacation student I was paid for the work that I did which was amazing. You are paid according to each task you undertake and that has to equate to just under/ up to 40 hours in a week. I was not reimbursed any travel expenses but luckily the wage covered these for me.

The town planning team in the arup branch that I undertook work experience in was very small - there were only two people - and therefore, networking in the relevant line of work was limited. In addition, as many staff have headphones on most of the day, in order to speak to clients, it was difficult to network with them. However, it was arranged that recent graduates from another branch came to the office one day and this was a great networking opportunity. In addition, a meal was arranged this day for all of the town planners to go to.

The town planning team in the arup branch that I undertook work experience in was very small - there were only two people - and therefore, networking in the relevant line of work was limited. In addition, as many staff have headphones on most of the day, in order to speak to clients, it was difficult to network with them. However, it was arranged that recent graduates from another branch came to the office one day and this was a great networking opportunity. In addition, a meal was arranged this day for all of the town planners to go to. In terms of social/networking events themselves, there seemed to be limited opportunities within the timeframe I was there.

This aspect was not discussed much during my time on placement. I only found out about social activities arranged amongst the recent graduates. However, through university talks I was already aware of activities, such as the ski trip, that you can partake in and so I personally didn’t ask much about additional out of work activities.

Arup is a world class company which looks great on your CV. The experience gained during this placement was extremely useful both in my degree and to take forward with me in the world of work. Therefore, I would definitely recommend getting a placement here as it will be beneficial for personal and professional development.