And last but not least , we’ve got some great insights from Uriaan de Plessis. Be sure to read to the end for some helpful tips!
Hi,
My name is Uriaan du Plessis. I am a first year civil engineering student at the University of Waikato. I started work at Stratum at the end of 2021 with the intent of getting some quality work experience as well as getting to know some of the local civil engineers that I might someday be qualified to work alongside.
As a summer intern, I was assigned to work with the field staff geotech team. This little group consisted of Thomas, Harry, Liam, and a fellow summer intern, Ben. Getting to know these guys and having funny car conversations on the way to site really got me to settle in. Each of these lads was super friendly and wasn’t shy to crack some jokes throughout the day to brighten the mood.
My first day of work was quite an interesting experience. Since I am a 1st year student, I hadn’t had very much exposure to Geotech yet, but the team very kindly caught me up to speed. It does take a couple days to really start getting the hang of the work though, but it’s not a very steep learning curve. Before long I was on my feet and able to do most of my site work without needing to ask questions.
A typical workday for us field staff boys starts off with a mini road trip with one or more of the other field staff lads to do some on-site testing. (The car where we typically have most of our funny conversations.)
Once we get onto site, we set up some gear and get to testing some soils, logging our results as we go. When we have finished all our testing, we pack up and shoot back to the office to input our logs into a spreadsheet. This is one of the best parts of the day because it allows us to wind down before the end of the day and maybe listen to a podcast or some music while we work.
Fast forward about 3 months, I am now getting to the end of my internship, I have learned quite a few things, some things I wish I knew when I started working at Stratum.
On a closing note, for those reading this who are doing/will be doing a summer internship at Stratum, I have a few tips for you:
First and foremost, if you are ever offered the hand auger clip set, give it to Thomas instead. He will be very grateful.
Only turn the car stereo to levels that are multiples of 5 or 10 or ends in the number 7.
Make sure to bring a water bottle. In this line of work, especially over the summertime, you will need water, so bring yourself some H2O to hydrate yourself throughout the day.
Make sure you lather up on some sunscreen. You really don’t want to be out for too long without it. Also, if you’re a fan of sock tans, this is the job for you.
If it’s a rainy kind of day, there are rain jackets available, but make sure to ask for some waterproof paper. It’s a life saver.
Regards,
Uriaan