Location: Devonport, Plymouth, England
Sector/Business unit: Nuclear
My graduate programme, why I chose it, and why I chose Babcock
One of my friends at university had applied to work at Babcock – he was excited and really wanted the job. On seeing his excitement, I decided to look into what graduate opportunities there were available at Babcock. The Electrical and Electronic Engineering Graduate Programme fit with my degree, and I could see it offered the opportunity to work in different areas of the business and widen my skillset as an engineer. Having had no prior engineering experience, I thought this would be perfect for me.
Other graduate positions at other companies offered little information about their graduate programmes, or I found that they were highly coding based, which is not my strong point. However, I have been told that there are courses and placements that I can do at Babcock to improve my skills in coding which is good.
My typical day
I start my working day by attending a project meeting where we discuss what compartments on the ships need to be worked on or inspected. I write these all down in my notes, get the relevant documents required for each compartment, and then I will go survey these areas on the ship.
After work, I usually head to the gym and on Tuesdays, I play in a 7-a-side football team with my Babcock colleagues. The social life at Babcock is great, as there’s always stuff going on with graduates such as nights out, walks, gaming nights, and coffee talks.
My favourite part of the job
My first placement, working on naval ships, has been my favourite part of the job so far. I supported with ship repairs and upgrades, as well as coming up with new systems that could be introduced.
I love the fact that I work on board the ships almost every day. Getting to know my way around a ship and being able to find each compartment has been interesting.
It’s extremely rewarding to see what work is being done when a ship is going through a refitting process. Being able to sign off a compartment once all repairs have been completed is a nice feeling of accomplishment. I will be happy, but sad the day the ship I’m working on has been fully refitted and is sent to sea.
The most challenging thing I’ve ever done to date
Not being a morning person and starting work early has probably been the most challenging thing for me, but after a few weeks of working, it became routine.
Babcock offers agile working, so at times I start earlier or start later and as long as I’ve made up my time that is acceptable. Agile working helps me find time to relax, do some errands, or hang out with friends.