Employment of BA (British Airways in general)

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Product:	British Airways in general
Date:	21/08/00 (8 review reads)
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They employ a lot of placement students and have done for several years so are really geared up to helping you get the most out of your time there. In terms of the work (I was in an IT support team along with another placement student), I was given plenty of responsibility and treated the same as the rest of the team, being sent on training courses and even taking my turn chairing the team meetings. My job also meant that I met just about everyone that worked in the department – about 200 people – and got to talk to many of them about what they did in their jobs, and I also managed to arrange work shadowing with other placement students after I’d finished my placement.

Apart from just employing students, they also run special social events like the Christmas Ball, and there are plenty of perks available. They depend on the department, but most of the students I knew managed to fly somewhere either for free or at a discount – although you’re limited by what accommodation and spending money you can afford, and by what your manager will authorise, which can depend on how much work you do. I was lucky enough to get a go in one of the simulators.

There are several drawbacks to a British Airways placement: the living expenses are quite high as the only placements I knew of were in and around Heathrow Airport, I didn’t get any help with finding anywhere to live (although there are plenty of rooms advertised locally because of the number of cabin crew in the area), and due to cutbacks industrial placements were being limited to a year so you can’t work for the full 15 months between the end of the second year and the beginning of the fourth year as you can at some other companies. But, the pay is comparable with other placement companies allowing for living in London, and working at Heathrow Airport for such a big name company will look really good on your c.v.

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