Year in Industry Review
at Network Rail
Placement (10 Months+)
Civil Engineering
Swindon
Review Submitted: November 2021
Overall Rating
3.6 /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!
3/5
-
Overview of Role
3.5/5
-
Skills Development
4.5/5
-
Support and Guidance
3.3/5
-
Company Culture
3/5
-
Overall Experience
5/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
I assisted the project managers in the team. This would include taking minutes at meetings, filling out forms to be submitted to various other disciplines and keeping track of progree of the projects. I'd also go on site visits with the project managers or construction managers to see how the works were ongoing and take photos to report back afterwards.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Overall I wasn't given a huge amount of reponsibility since I was assisting a project manager who held said responsibility, but for certain smaller tasks within the larger project I was given total control of them.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
3/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I've learnt skills in minute writing (essentially extracting important information from conversations) and in time management. I gained a larger understanding of mapping and using GIS to display information and convey this to other people. I also gained a wider appreciation for the rail industry and how it is run from day to day.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
2/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
4/5
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?
My team were extremely supportive throughout the year, especially because it was online for most of the time.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
4/5
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?
My team were extremely collaborative and friendly. The wider company is very big and has a lot of processes that can make it difficult to promote more cross collaboration between disciplines and teams. But there's a general feeling of being part of the "railway family" that is felt across the board.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
4/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
3/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
3/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
3/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
It was a tricky year since most of it was online and done from my bedroom, so I felt there were a lot of missed opportunities for me because of this. However, what work I was doing and the times I did get to venture out on site were fairly enjoyable and I feel it was worth completing the year.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
3/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at Network Rail
5/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Network Rail to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to Network Rail
Show your passions and stick to them. It's a big industry but one that once your in, they want to keep you. So even if where you start isn't what you want to be doing, keep at it and there will almost certainly be opportunities to move around and try other things.
