Placement Student Review

I greatly enjoyed my placement as I got to work on a variety of projects within the team and with different people. At times I think the tasks were a bit simple and below my skill level. On other occasions I sometimes had too little or too much to do, but overall it was a very positive experience.

I think later on into the placement I received more work as I was noticed as an asset which was nice. I was also treated like an equal and was invited to all the work lunches and socials. I also received advice on my graduate career and working life in general which was very helpful.

I often received work from my manager to make sure I was kept busy which I appreciated. They always took the time to answer my queries and never once said they were too busy. I also regularly had discussions about how I was doing and my plans for the future which was great. I can't think of a better scenario than that.

For the most part I always had tasks to do, receiving several a week. There were a couple of days midway through the placement where I had one task left and was stretching it out as there was nothing else for me to do. Outside of this I came in knowing what I had to do and was fairly often approached with jobs.

Tasks I were given I was responsible for completing so I was rarely just assisting someone with a task or observing. I mainly did work for people within the team so I didn't really send emails or speak to people outside of the company from what I remember. So in that aspect it could have been better but for the whole I did a lot of independent work.

The placement positively affected my career aspirations but in regards to skills I don't think I picked up many new ones, mainly because I have had placements before. I did learn a lot about the discipline I worked in as well as what it is like to work for a large company in London.

It was very friendly within the team and quite casual, although the office layout meant there wasn't much talk between teams. I felt very welcome and didn't hesitate to speak to other people and ask questions. The people around me were talkative and made sure I didn't feel left out.

The process of getting setup was very easy and I got started very quickly due to the good organisation. A number of tasks had been put aside for my arrival and I started them on the first day. It lost a little steam halfway through but overall there was plenty for me to do.

Arup has a great reputation as a company and the prospect of working there again is very appealing. Seeing the work the graduates were doing and how well respected and ingrained into the team they were was good. It made me believe that it was something I would like to do in the near future.

The social scene within the team was really good as we would frequently have lunch most weeks, go for evening drinks on a Friday and even attended a few large socials. It allowed me to get to know the team better and feel more comfortable speaking with them at work.