No one-size-fits-all
career path for me at Atkins.
I'm Emma, a Graduate Electrical Engineer at Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis Group. I studied Electrical and Mechanical Engineering MEng at uni, and at the time, I wanted to work on engineering projects, especially in renewable energies.
Serial summer placements with Atkins
I used my summers to do placements at Atkins. My three placements each lasted eight weeks, which still left eight weeks of summer for holidays. During my three summer placements, I worked in different offices, working on a wide range of projects in Energy and Rail.
I was allowed to follow my interests.
Atkins always gave me time to pursue whatever I was interested in doing and learning. This included organising a useful technical trip to a substation for my colleagues. I also enjoyed the flexibility to work in business areas entirely different from what I was studying. For example, I worked on sustainability and environmental case studies to support bidding right across Atkins.
Skills that made me ready for the world of work
I learned how to complete tasks well and how to manage my workload and engage with my colleagues. My favourite project was working on the electrical design of an offshore wind turbine. I understood the expectations of the client and how to create drawings and reports. The experience helped me deliver work confidently for similar projects after I started full time.
A chance to try out some exciting technologies
Atkins has been developing its Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Reality Capture capabilities. I met the team working on this, and they gave a presentation on the technology. I was amazed at the potential benefits and really enjoyed trying out the kit!
Trusted to get on with my work
I loved being able to contribute useful work to the team. Most of my work was unsupervised while supporting the work of another engineer. I was set a task to work on and would go back to ask for help or to check on my progress. It was a great way to work. I learned how to think through a project and understand all the small tasks required for a good quality output.
My placements got my career off to an excellent start.
I loved the broad range of projects I worked on in my placement and therefore decided I wanted to work for Atkins to build my experience in these areas. I'm now in the same team I did one of my placements with which meant I had a smooth transition from uni into work and has given me a lot of confidence.
Want to explore fantastic career possibilities? Check out our placement scheme, here.
