Graduate Geoenvironmental Consultant Review

I have had quite a different experience in my first year compared to other graduates, due to ill health and various external factors. This has meant that my job role has had to be adapted quite significantly. I feel like everyone has been extremely understanding and considerate with my needs. Aside from this, my colleagues are all lovely and very knowledgeable. I feel like I am able to ask questions without being judged and that everyone is always happy to help. I like that my colleagues also show their trust in me to handle projects, and recommend my name to other people.

Writing reports; tier 1 and 2, health and safety reports, ground water monitoring reports etc.
Data analytics/inputting.
Client discussions.
Site work; groundwater monitoring, supervising drilling rigs, soil sampling, ground gas monitoring etc.

The private health care has come in handy for me since joining. I have however seen other companies offering a higher annual salary than Arcadis which could deter new graduates. Additionally, a lot of geoenvironmental graduates time is spent away from home, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. For this reason I think greater benefits could be offered to make the time spent away and alone seem less daunting. Finally, there is a lack of overtime hours available, which often means working unpaid hours when on site.

The support I get from my line manager is amazing, she is very understanding, great at finding work for me when quiet, and very encouraging.
I have a mentor, we don't catch up very often - but when we do he is super helpful. I know I can contact him whenever I need some support that is not from my direct team.
I had a buddy when I joined, however we didn't maintain great contact and haven't really acted on this since I first joined.
My only slightly negative is that most of my team do not work in the same office as me, which makes it less tempting for me to travel to the office. Also, sometimes the advice from more senior colleagues is slightly too harsh in my opinion. I think a lot of this is just with tone/wording which is harder to comprehend online compared to in person, but it is also important that they remember we do not know anywhere near as much as them so more mistakes are likely to arise. Constructive criticism is great, telling someone that the work they have done is badly written with no advice is not helpful.

I personally really enjoy hybrid working. I find that with my health conditions, it suits me a lot better as working in the office adds on 2-3 hours from travel and I am unable to properly manage my condition. Additionally, my office is not very sociable, and my team mostly work in other offices; hence when I go to the office I don't really have the social value expected. Everyone is very positive, and the reception team are helpful, but people mostly keep to themselves. I also focus a lot better working from home, I get a lot more work done too.

Yes

My friends are all of similar background to me in terms of studying, so I think a lot of them would like the roles which Arcadis has to offer. I think this company is very welcoming of everyone, fair, communicative. I think they offer competitive salaries, and a wide range of experience.

I expected it to be slightly more Chemistry based as this was what I studied and discussed in my interview. I also think the recruitment process did not highlight just how much site work is involved, my initial understanding was that the role required you to occasionally visit the site you are reporting on.