Abigail F.

What were the best things about your course?

The practical experience I gained working with the  Fluor Pilot Plant while completing my undergraduate and master's degrees was instrumental in preparing me for my future career. Because of my work with the Fluor Pilot Plant and my involvement with the Student Leadership Team as a Project Manager, I noticed a significant boost in my confidence when it comes to discussing technical matters. I believe this contributed to me getting a placement role as a Project Engineering Manager just 2 months later! It really improved my communication and leadership skills, as I successfully led several groups of 6-15 experienced engineers during my placement. More importantly, it gave me insight to how the real industry worked, and I when I put on my overall and hard hat, I was like, "yes! I'm an ENGINEER"

What do you do now? How did your degree from Surrey help you achieve this?

The University and its school, play a significant role in assisting students secure graduate jobs. To prepare for my placement year applications, I received CV support from the Employability department during a free consultation. The School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has strong industrial ties and a great reputation among students and so I was proud to be Surrey! 

At Air Products where I completed my placement and I am excited to return to in October, I had the opportunity to work with a lot of Surrey students and graduates. In fact, my manager who'd been in the industry 15+ years was a Surrey graduate himself!

Over the years, the University of Surrey provided me with a mentor who had regular meetings with me to check on my status and ensure that I was enjoying the progress I was making.  It was clear that Surrey was dedicated to helping me acquire the necessary skills and succeed.

I could give multiple highlights from my placement year but a big moment for me was when I was sent with my team, without my manager, to inspect a third party company we were planning to hire. 

This situation made me step out of my comfort zone and I realised despite being inexperienced, I had really good insights and instincts. 

I then made the decision to go into Project Management in the future but hope to gain more hands-on technical experience first. 

What’s your advice to current students?

Be a student who takes studying seriously enough to put everything in...the results are worth every bit of sweat you put in!

Find out more about Chemical Engineering at Surrey.