Assistant Geomatics Scientist Review

It was a good experience, with interesting work and very welcoming work colleagues.

I felt that I was valued member of the processing team, and I felt the work I was doing was relevant and helping the team.

I had little contact with my mentor and senior management throughout the year. However I had great support and guidance from fellow colleagues in the processing room and I feel I learned a lot from them.

It varied throughout the year. Where some weeks I had little to do other than read manuals, other weeks I just didn't have enough hours in the day. This however, reflected the work patterns of my colleagues, as work volumes vary throughout the year.

I was given a reasonably amount of responsibility throughout the placement. The first few months I had very little responsibility but as the placement progressed and I gained knowledge and experience I gained more and more responsibility.

I gained valuable knowledge and skills during the placement which will directly support my studies at university. I did however, gain less skills with GIS than I had hoped, as most of the work I did was remote sensing based as I had less opportunity to move around and learn all aspects Geomatics.

There was a very good atmosphere throughout the office, especially in the processing room where I was based. Everyone was friendly, helpful and talkative and made me comfortably from the start.

The placement advertisement and the interview process was relatively well organised. However, once I was at my placement, there was little structure and no real programme set out. I was told I would spend 4-6 months in the processing room and then would move around the office to experience all parts of Geomatics. There was a change programme being set in place throughout the Environment Agency, however this didn't start until 4 months into my placement, so I felt they didn't really plan on what to do with me.

I was trained in how to process the data and I went to a National Induction Day for new employees, but I didn't feel there was much investment into my training.

I don't feel there would be a secure job or progression opportunities within the organisation.

There were no other placement students, and most colleagues were a fair bit older than me. However, there was a relatively good social scene, with trips to the local pub after work, meals out and cinema trips.

It is a very expensive area to live in and a living costs are high.

It is ok, however Bath isn't huge and compared to bigger cities like Manchester and Sheffield the nightlife isn't great, but there are a few clubs, but loads of good pubs and restaurants.

There are opportunities for most activities outside work, like any city if you do enough research you can always find something to suit you.