Student Engineer Review

by Costain

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

2.4/5
  • The Role
    1.8
  • The Company
    2.8
  • The Culture
    2.6

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

    • Wasn't really given any responsibility. I may as well have not been there.

    2/5
  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

    • Got along with colleagues. Good scene on site. Just felt a bit useless.

    3/5
  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

    • I think this was the problem. Line manager lost interest after first couple of days. I had to pester him and others for work and then received no feedback when completed. Competely uninterested in me.

    1/5
  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

    • The few times I was given something to do I was busy. Othwerwise not busy at all.

    2/5
  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

    • Hardly any.

    2/5
  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

    • Gained a lot of insight. The tunnelling project was actually very interesting and got to see some amazing equipment i.e. the tunnel boring machine.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

    • Good scene/banter amongst colleagues. Got along with everyone. Stressful project, however, and a few colleagues were unhappy with the job.

    3/5
  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

    • They invested a lot into these placements but I got the impression my line manager had just been dumped with a student and as he was a busy man on a stressful project he just wanted to get along with his job. I can understand this completely. My advice to Costain would to be to offer some incentives to the line managers so that they have a reason to maintain interest with the students. My line manager seemingly had none.

    3/5
  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

    • Costain really did invest a lot into this. I cannot fault that side of it. I received exposure to an amazing project, amazing equipment etc, plus the pay wasn't bad either. This placement could have been amazing only if they had provided my line manager with a reason to give me time.

    5/5
  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?

    • 3/5
  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

    • I have decided construction work is not for me. The hours can be long, stress pretty high and the wage not reflecting the hours that some of the guys were putting in, but that's just the indutry. Those points aside, Costain is a good firm to work for. If construction is for you, go Costain.

    2/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

    • Good social scene among placement students from different projects. Didn't go out with colleagues but got along with them in the office.

    4/5
  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

    • London is expensive...

    1/5
  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

    • London

    5/5
  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

    • Met up with placement students frequently. No events organised at work by Costain.

    2/5
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Details

London

October 2012

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