Student Engineer Review

I had to work shadow several different people, to get an idea of what the company does and also what engineering involves. I also attended design meetings with the engineers, architects and the rest of the design team. I work shadowed civil and structural engineers, as well as graphic designers, which was a good variety.

At the time, I didn't know much about engineering so it taught me a lot about what being an engineer actually is like on a day to day basis. I also learnt communication skills as this was my first proper "job", which was clearly very different from school and university! I learnt how to work in a team as well.

I enjoyed it very much! It was great to contribute something which is actually in the real world rather than just school or university. I had fun seeing what each different engineer did, and also to attend actual design meetings. As the programme wasn't very long, I didn't feel like I was getting bored at anytime at all.

I feel valued, although since they're a very large company, it did sometimes feel like a small cog in a large machine. I think I'd prefer and would feel more valued in a small company, where here are much fewer cogs! That being said, in my immediate team I feel and felt very valued!

It wasn't very structured, because it was just some work experience rather than an official programme, but that was fine. However, the organisers had actually organised each day very well, even though this wasn't required at all! I really appreciated that. In the future, I would probably prefer this to an official, very structured programme.

A lot! I never felt like I couldn't ask for help when I need it, and they regularly checked on me, which I think was great, as I didn't know much about engineering at all at the time! Every day someone would take me to the next person that I had to work shadow, and everyone was very supportive at all times.

They were the same as my emloyer really, so see previous question. Also, as an employer, they were making sure I could get the experience I needed to see what engineering is really about, which is being really supportive. They really listened to the experience that I wanted to achieve and made sure I got it.

This was just work experience, so it was unpaid. However, in my circumstances this wasn't a problem as I was living at home and the experience was very valuable to me as it directed what I applied to study at university. So overall, not being paid wasn't a big issue. Of course being paid would have been better, but oh well!

I wasn't there for very long, but I did go out with a couple of the team for lunch on a few days, which was lovely. I think they also have socials, which of course I would have gone to if I'd been there for a longer time. I think there are many of these opportunities, the amount probably depends on which office you're in.

Yes

They're a large company and have great projects to work on. They also don't just hire engineers, so as a large company, they have many technical and non-technical opportunities for anyone! They also have officies all over the country, so location wise you can work for them no matter where in the UK (and in fact the world!) you live.

Be prepared to stand out - they get lots of applications! So make sure you know the basics for the role you're applying for, as well as extras! If you're good in your field, you have nothing to worry about, they'll recognise it. If you get rejected, don't worry, you can try again next year or for a different role!