This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
-
The Company
-
The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I have only just started my placement so I am not completely sure if I will enjoy the whole year. So far, my experience has been mixed. There have been times when I have had no work and when I was unsure of what to do and I felt like I didn't know who to talk to.
I feel valued by some of my colleagues. Some of them take a lot of time to explain things to me but others seem too busy a lot of the time to go through tasks with me. Hopefully further through my placement this will improve as they get to know me.
I don't have a supervisor or if I do, I don't know who they are. Therefore, I don't think I've been given much guidance at all. Most of the time I found out what I needed to do from other placement students which wasn't always ideal. Some of my colleagues have been friendly and helped me set everything up.
This varies day by day. Sometimes I have a lot to do but I am constantly aware that when I run out I'll have nothing to do. When I run out of work I feel like I'm pestering my colleagues however they do normally try and give me some work when I'm not busy.
As I'm only a month into my placement I haven't been given much responsibility at all. At the moment, I am learning a lot of the basics and getting into projects. I have attended meetings and gone out on site though which have been really interesting and hopefully I'll be given more responsibility later on.
At the moment, I haven't used any of the skills from University during the placement. However I have learnt how to use a lot of new software and different parts of engineering I haven't yet covered at University. I am sure what I have learnt so far will assist me with my studies later on.
The Company
My office is very quiet as there are very few people in the office. However, I do feel like I can approach everyone in the office and that everyone in my office gets along well. I relate more to the younger members of the office that are nearer my age.
I think it was well set up as arup and my university were linked so it was easy to apply. When I arrived they were expecting me and had a desk set up for me. There are a few important health and safety/ IT talks for new starters which were also helpful.
I have attended a few health and safety talks which has definitely helped me develop and appreciate the link between design and site. I am also going to go on a two day course to help me develop my skills with an important piece of software that I regularly use.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
I am not sure if I would want to work with them again. I think at the end of my placement I will have more of an idea whether this sort of work is for me. At the moment I am not sure I want to work in an office as I enjoy being outdoors.
The Culture
I have socialised quite a lot with the other placement students but only because I knew someone from my university course already working at the company. If i hadn't known her, I wouldn't have been introduced to anyone outside of my very small office. However, there are social events to attend where you can meet more people.
Cost of living is fine as my pay easily covers rent and bills. I was already living in the place where I work as it is where I currently attend University. Therefore I knew what to expect in regards to costs of restaurants and bars and other living expenses that I may come across.
The night life in the area is very good as I live in a big City where there is a lot going on. I also know the area very well so I know where to go and where everything is. The office is very close to the city centre so it is easy to go out after work.
There have been some opportunities to do activities outside of work. I have joined a football team where I have got to meet a lot of other people from different departments in the building. There are a lot of other clubs that I could join aswell that have been advertised.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Civil Engineering
Wales
September 2018