Functional Analsyt Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement. I met some great people and didn't want to go back to University. The placement gave me the opportunity to work full time and feel involved in an international business. My placement was the best year and I would definitely do it again!

I got to work within small teams, and also be part of the BIS team in the UK which was all the sub teams together. I felt very valued by all of my colleagues and they helped me throughout my placement. They made me feel part of the team straight away.

At PepsiCo you have a line manager and also a mentor, this benefitted my placement because I had lots of support. My line manager would hold fortnightly meetings to discuss objectives and to see how I am doing. My mentor was there to discuss anything I needed within the placement, and even externally.

On my placement I had daily tasks which I would carry out. But also I then was on a project, so this increased my work load. You are given a lot of responsibility which is great, but if you thought it was too much work you could always speak to your mentor or supervisor about it.

When I started my placement I worked alongside the student before so they could show me their responsibility and what was expected from me. As the placement went on I was given more responsibility. However from the outset you are trusted as a full time employee and are given lots of work to get stuck into.

Putting my university modules into real life practice was great, however they did not help that much. You learn pretty much on the job, but the systems they use will help you with other jobs since they will be similar. I developed my professional skills within team meetings and presentations. I have now brought these skills back to university where I can apply them to my end of year project.

Our office was smart/casual so you didn't always have to be suited and booted. This made managers more approachable because there was a relaxed feel. The atmosphere was really friendly, but also professional. You were always trusted and everyone would go get drinks together and socialise.

The placement was great because there was 8 of us working in the same department, this allowed you to already meet other people in the same position as you. PepsiCo carried out workshops and factory tours for us all to go on, this widened our thoughts on the business as a whole. There were also placement students in other departments who we got to socialise with.

We were given objectives for the year, and one of those was to complete our ITIL which is an IT qualification. This was all arranged and paid for by the company. We always had meetings with colleagues to make sure we were receiving the correct training. PepsiCo are now allowing us to work there one day a week while we are carrying out our final year at University.

I would love to go back and work at PepsiCo. They allow us to still work there while we are at University, so we can stay within the organisation and be aware of job roles coming up. I hope to get a job there after University.

The placement was great because there was 8 of us working in the same department, this allowed you to already meet other people in the same position as you. PepsiCo carried out workshops and factory tours for us all to go on, this widened our thoughts on the business as a whole. There were also placement students in other departments who we got to socialise with. We also lived with other placement students.

We were based in Reading, so was relatively cheap. It was cheaper to live than in Brighton where we study. We socialised a lot with colleagues and this was always in Reading at bars/pubs. This was all relatively priced.

We were based in Reading. The nightlife was great we would go out clubbing every payday with fellow colleagues.

We played badminton with colleagues every week. Then we would go out for drinks most nights. There were other clubs you could get involved in too. We also went our for birthday pub lunches and dinners.