Geotech/Geoenvironmental Summer Placement Review
at Mott MacDonald
Internship (1 Month+)
Engineering, Environmental Science
Bristol
Review Submitted: September 2023
Overall Rating
4.4 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4/5
-
Overview of Role
4.5/5
-
Skills Development
5/5
-
Support and Guidance
4.5/5
-
Company Culture
4/5
-
Overall Experience
4/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
The work that I was given was largely dependent on the projects running at the time, and during my placement I worked on three different projects. Most of my work was focussed on one project, where I assisted in the production of a ground investigation report and largely undertook excel-based work visualising and interpreting ground survey data. I also gained experience using leapfrog, a 3D geological modelling software.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
I was given a lot of responsibility, especially towards the latter weeks of my placement, where I felt I could take ownership of my work and really enjoyed this. I was able to ask different people across the company for work (essentially seek out my own work). The graphs and geotechnical parameters that I devised, in addition to written up sections were included in a published ground investigation report.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I developed many valuable skills during my placement, and drastically improved my competency using excel, starting with virtually no experience. I generally became very confident working with data across different software (Inc. excel, holebase, leapfrog). My report writing and literacy skills also improved, as well as my ability to extract and synthesise information. I also developed many soft skills, including communication, organization, time management, and a general understanding of the process of project progression.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
4/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
I felt supported by the entire geotech team whom I sat with, and were happy to help me with any questions I had. My line manager was excellent - she checked in on me daily and made sure I was always learning and doing meaningful work. She also set up meetings for me to chat to employees from other teams around the office when I demonstrated interest in other sectors.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The company culture was excellent, everyone was incredibly friendly and happy to chat with me and share their experiences if I asked them. The office was a very non-intimidating, welcoming place which made the entire experience a positive one.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
4/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I thoroughly enjoyed my placement and genuinely looked forward to coming into work every day, helped by the fact that I got along well with many of my team and the other interns.
Despite not intending to enter the geotech/geo-environmental team (due to an error in the job role pre-interview), I still enjoyed the work I was doing and developed many skills that were transferrable across multiple disciplines.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Mott MacDonald
4/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Mott MacDonald to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Mott MacDonald
Demonstrate your interest in the company and the job title you are applying for, and ask lots of questions in the interview. Show that you are eager to learn and develop. Be yourself in the interview, and If you are the right fit for the company then this will be evident and you'll likely be successful.
