Arup Reviews

Once I finish the grad program next year I will be promoted, other than that, increasing technical proficiency (working towards getting chartered), gaining wider experience (working overseas), and moving into management seem to lead to promotions

ARUP has a charitable arm dedicated to non-profitable international development projects, such as helping with natural disaster relief or working on refugee resettlement. All projects are viewed through a social lens, with impacts on the environment and broader community, not just the client, considered

Fantastic company culture, colleagues are available to talk about more than work and managers make sure to check in emotionally and provide additional support when required. Open office layout encourages collaboration and dedicated non-work spaces within the office (cafe, cafeteria, table tennis) provide a space to have informal social connections. Very flat social hierarchy, everyone gets the same desk, no offices, and everyone is happy to talk to everyone. Regular social events are available without pressure to participate every time

There are clear targets around hiring and retention of women in a male-dominated industry, and it makes a huge difference, with ~50-50% gender balance in the office. There is still an overrepresentation of men in management, but there are many women in key positions, my direct manager is a woman, and the co-chairs of the Australasia region are women. There is a generous amount of both maternity and paternity leave and support for anyone to work part time/4 days a week any time they need. There is a clear representation of ethnic minorities and LGBTIQA+ communities within the office, although I am not aware of specific targets around this

What I do day to day depends on the project and stage of a project I am working on. I have been involved in completing geotechnical desktop studies, (compiling geotechnical information for a site and detailing potential risks), site work (logging boreholes and collecting samples), processing geotechnical data, writing geotechnical reports, organizing subcontractors, creating automation tools, running meetings

Very accessible, exceptionally good mentors and internal communication is easy. Leaders take you out for coffees and make sure you are enjoying your time as a grad as they want to retain employees for the long run

The office location and space are great. The office is a 1 minute walk from the train station making it quite convenient to access via public transport. Our company has 3 floors within the building it occupies and the floors are connected in an integrated open plan way. There are different spaces in the offices from desks (sit/ stand) with monitors and more casual work areas such as in our internal cafe space. There are also many different non-work facilities such as an internal cafe, great end-of-trip facilities space, a table tennis area, relaxation room, parents room and also access to an outdoor garden. The dress code is quite casual/smart casual

I was interviewed for my internship position - the process was quite straightforward. There was an initial application (incl. written responses to questions with resume attached), followed by a situational judgment test (one section on solving puzzles and numerical/verbal reasoning and another on personality). I was then invited to an interview with 2 members of the team I was interviewing for. Following this interview was the offer. The transition to a graduate involved signing a provisional offer and then upon completion of university officially being taken on board as a graduate. There was also the opportunity to work for a few days a week during the year leading up to the graduate program starting

I think pay is comparative and the profit share rather than a bonus is a really nice feature that I think helps with team morale/unity

My most valuable training has been on-the-job training, with lots of questions answered and feedback from my colleges

The standard number of hours in general is quite consistent across a week but how you split up that time can vary depending on when you start/ finish each day during the week and if you have any other commitments during work hours etc. Working from home is also an option but as graduates, we are encouraged to come to the office as much as we can for the informal learning that comes with it

We are dedicated to not accepting any new fossil fuel projects and leaving money on the table to make this choice. We are constantly trying to find efficiencies in our project to reduce our carbon footprint as well as making the case to clients for adopting greener technologies and committing to their own targets