Find out what the ASET Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of the ASET competition winners as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

Ready with my cup of coffee, I sat down to go through my usual morning emails when I stopped on a message asking me to confirm my final review meeting with the Head of Engineering. As I started reading the email my mind went through a flashback of memories from the day I joined Siemens.

My placement year has given me a head-start on my route to get IET Chartership. I have realised how each task relates to a specific level of the required competencies, and the way they integrate to help you prove your professional experience. I also got the opportunity to train on something completely new by using the knowledge I gained in my undergraduate studies, and I can now use this to contribute to the final year project requirements.

The placement year has assured me that my decision to pursue Engineering as my career was correct, as I have immensely enjoyed the exposure which Siemens gave me to broaden my knowledge and put my thinking cap on.

Apart from academic skills, my personal qualities have been tried and developed immensely over this year. The planning and problem solving skills I have used while designing the configuration are now being used to plan for my final year project at the university and I have decided to again stretch myself to learn something new which I was vaguely introduced to while at Siemens, namely Fibre Optic Communication.

As the bridge between my placement year and my university is narrowing, I have realised that the placement year has given me a wonderful insight to my life after graduation. I now can visualise my career five years from now. I am now ready to welcome the change of going back to university and complete my graduation so as to then expand my wings into the world of opportunities…..

So, “to fresh woods and pastures new”…with hope and the knowledge that experience being only a name we give to our mistakes, I carry with me the confidence that I shall overcome the challenges in the coming year.