Undergraduate Engineer Review

As an undergraduate engineer in the mechanical & electrical team, my role has been to aid in the implementation of these systems on-site. Personally, have been mostly responsible for facilitating systems tests, conducting surveys on various design aspects, assisting with quantity surveying and, of course, learning as much as possible.

When I began this internship, I had essentially no idea how buildings are made or how the construction industry functions. The difference in knowledge between then and now is immense. I had the opportunity to familiarise myself with the various systems which enable a building to function as well as to see how a project progresses overall. Additionally, I now better understand the roles and structures required to bring a construction project to fruition.

At times I was given some fairly time sensitive work, which had some serious outcomes. Part of my internship has taken place while a building was being 'handed over' to the client and, if any changes must be made at this time, they must be done quickly, but with even more care than typically required.

The project team was incredibly helpful to me during my internship. Everyone was willing to answer my questions about their roles and the processes they were involved in.

A construction environment is noticeably rougher than an office environment, but the same structures are in place as in most other environments, although I do understand a lot of people may not enjoy this 'roughness'. However, considering the open layout of the entire office and site, you could say that the connections here are even stronger than most other workplaces.

I greatly enjoy learning, so I was well suited to the consistently steep learning curve. There were many times when I found myself with no assignments; however, there are many resources available to further your learning if you choose to use them, for example: using the company's CAD software or looking through the library of drawings and specifications which detail how the project has progressed.

Yes

Make use of all the resources available because, although there is the opportunity to learn a lot, there is also the opportunity to learn very little if you do not take initiative.