Career development: Successful work experience

• DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF WORK I DID

HANDOUTS - ALL

As you can see with these handouts I was involved in a variety of projects including designing a signpost that will shortly be erected outside Ringways garage on Doncaster road near Scawthorpe. There was a project were I designed a pole lantern and supporting brackets for an abnormal lamp post at Tickhill my design was used in the production process and as the photo shows I the bracket was manufactured and used as a direct result of my design. Other projects included accident surveys and insurance claims but the hardest of all the mini projects was the designing of street lighting down my own street obviously a fabricated project but I followed the correct procedures as to what the project would have followed if I was genuine. As the different booklets show I had to design and plan the project, I had to perform a street survey and using the some of the best mapping technology I gathered information of where the YEDL cables were so that I could arrange for the lighting to be installed. The process involved selecting the most convenient lamp and column height to achieve the legal levels of light on the road. Lighting levels are measured in Lux as seen in the diagrams throughout the documents.  

• HOW WERE THE EXPECTATIONS DIFFERENT TO THOSE OF THAT OF SCHOOL?

My expectations different very much to that of what I had for school, I expected to be making tea and doing relatively poor standard work, just as we are used to do on office duty. But they were drastically changed by the first day I realised that it wasn’t going to be a dull 2 weeks. But it was going to be interesting to see what actually happen in an office.

• WHICH PARTS OF THE PLACEMENT DID I ENJOY THE MOST?

I enjoyed the parts where I was working with people on actual jobs like designing the signposts I wasn’t just sat down to copy something, Ralph the person I was working with on that specific day was very helpful and made me feel welcome. He showed me, roughly the full procedures that he would have to do before a job took place he explained to me the use of the Highways standards book published by the highways act of 1988. He showed me the legal side to the job and the different things that you wouldn’t even think of.

• WHICH PARTS OF THE PLACEMENT DID I LEAST ENJOY?

Well non really if there was a day that I didn’t enjoy as much as first expected it would have to have been the first day. As I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know anybody. I was a total stranger to an office environment.

• DID I FIND THE EXPERIENCE MORE DEMANDING?

Yes, and no I found the experience demanding on the hours I had to work they were longer than school and I thought I wouldn’t be able to cope but the hours were really flexible and the work was performed in a relaxed office atmosphere with people chatting to me and showing me the ways of the council. The days flew by but it was showing at home as I was going to bed earlier but I never felt the stain while at work I never felt tired until I came home and laid down.

• HAS IT HELPED ME TO DECIDE MY FUTURE CAREER PATH?

The experience has defiantly made me change my idea of what type of job I want while I’m older I have decided that I would like to be involved in the designing engineering type of work as it is more active