Ranger Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement as I have experienced a variety of activities as a Ranger. This placement has given me a range of skills that I can then use within other jobs/experiences in the future. The staff members are were very kind and helpful and have been a great team to work with.

I was asked multiple times what areas within the job I would like to focus on so that my experience could be tailored to my preferences. The staff were very welcoming and are a nice group of people to spend each day with. Intervals and lunch breaks were suitable times and durations so that we were not overworked.

I have constantly received guidance for the tasks to carry out, as well as staff members repeating instructions to ensure that I understood the task at hand and was comfortable. Staff members are constantly accompany me with jobs so that I am able to ask questions if needed.

I have gained an insight into multiple activities for the job which I can these use at university and future jobs. I have been given responsibility with machinery and have also carried out species identification as well as participating in surveys. All the activities I have participated in have been useful and I shall use each of them in the future.

The majority of tasks have been given to us in advance so that we could specify which we would like to be involved with. There were rare occasions that the tasks for the day were not known and slightly staggered, but this was a nice break from being constantly involved with tasks. There has been a variety of tasks given to us which have increased the structure level of the experience.

here is constantly something to do and be involved with, and we have never been left on our own which has been nice to have that kind of support without being relied on to be independent when my background experience is only small. The staff members are all positive and are enthusiastic to carry out the tasks. Some tasks were less interesting than others but this is expected in any job and has still enabled me to gain a variety of experience.

Financially, no direct investments have been made towards me. However, regarding time spent with staff members and training to use machinery, carry out surveys and species identification, a lot of time has been invested into my experience. I have gained valuable skills that my placement knew would be valuable for a future job for me.

I think I have an in depth knowledge about what the job would be like if I was to work there full time. There is a variety of jobs that can be carried out and each day is different. We worked alongside the current full time staff members so we were assisting their jobs so this means I have a significant understanding of what the job would be like full time.

I feel like I have a good insight into the company culture. Not only is the company hangs on with the area itself, but they also take part in education of schools, visiting other companies to let them know about the work that is carried out as well as enabling volunteers to take part in work.

I am still unsure of what job role I would like to pursue due to my lack of experience in other sectors or with other companies. However, this experience has made me realise that this job is definitely something that I would be interested in and would consider to do another placement here.

I was not paid for my time at this placement. At the moment the company does not have funds available to pay placement students and this was made clear before I started my placement. I feel that the time and experience I have received has been valuable in itself and I am grateful for the time invested in my learning.

We were introduced to multiple members of staff that have their own roles within the company. We also participated in volunteer days which meant we were able to meet other volunteers. The employees were very welcoming and interested in each placement student and what they are interested in and what areas they would like to take part in within the company.

It should be taken into account that the social events are varied within the time of year due to the area also being a tourist attraction. We were able to participate in volunteer days to meet other members of the public that potentially have similar interests. For events that involved the public we were asked if we wanted to participate in them.

In my short time at this placement, I am unsure if I was informed about any activities that employees can get involved with outside of work. However, I know that employees can get involved with activities outside of the work environment through events or through social media.

I would definitely recommend this placement to people that are interested in wildlife conservation. However it should be taken into account that even people who do not want to go into conservation would find some of this experience valuable as there have been so many activities to participate and experience.