Track Support Engineer Review

I was given unrestricted access to my curiosity. Given the amount of responsibility and wealth of things you can learn from transport in London from engineering to finance and procurement, plus the perks the job gives you, there is no doubt that I enjoyed my placement.

I was included in nearly everything my department deals with which means I was treated as part of the team. I was never put to the side as someone who they have to deal with but encouraged to be invovled in as many projects and CPD activites as I could handle.

Both my managers and HR reps gave me as much guidance as they could. They were always open to any questions or requests I had. As placement students are integrated with the graduates, we were also sent to internal courses where we could learn and improve skills used in the workplace and beyond.

When projects were in planning, there was always something to do, however once the project was completed, there was some downtime. I used that downtime to update my CPD logs, however I was never left without anything to do leading to a busy placement, although it did become stressful sometimes.

Throughout my placement, my responsibilities and projects easily amounted to about half a million pounds. There was never any doubt in my managers to give me anything less than what would be given to a full time employee which was at first difficult, however it was a steep learning curve that I am now grateful for.

I cannot comment for the future, however I do believe the skills courses I attended, plus the workplace experience definitely has helped me in my personal and professional life. Personally it has made me more talkative and confident about my abilities and left me wanting more.

The team I worked with were a relaxed bunch who made every day interesting. Being in a open office environment with a number of other departments was also interesting as you could see and hear what other people are working on.

There was some difficulty and chasing up involved, however from what I've been told the process has improved for the next recruitment run. My advice is to keep chasing till you get an answer.

A steady salary, choice of multiple skills courses, various CPD activities, social events, free travel for you and a family member, unrestricted access to your CPD...

I'm confident with all the investment in me and my performance in my placement, I am expected to return for a summer placement and finally a graduate position.

I did go to some events and meetups which was good, however I was busy the majority of the week to participate fully in anything.

Well, it is London. I was lucky to be living at home, however from what I've heard from other students and graduates it is difficult to find a relatively affordable property and social life.

Didn't participate in nightlife.

As a placement student you are encouraged to mingle with the graduates from the beginning. All the graduates I met saw you on the same level as them with the added bonus of having connections to other parts of the business. We were all in one whatsapp group or another with various meetups happening, however I didn't have the time to join them.