My placement in LA has been life-changing

Daisy Kyle, a Building Surveying BSc(Hons) student, has secured a job thanks to her placement in Los Angeles. Here she talks about the experience and about her time at the University of Brighton.

Thanks to my placement, I now have a graduate job…
My year’s placement in Los Angeles working for Alan and Green, a boutique firm specialising in high-end residential construction projects, was an incredible opportunity. I worked on a number of interesting projects including one for the property developer of a 25,000 sq ft Beverly Hills mansion that later sold for $46.5m.

I thought I was more interested in traditional building surveying. But thanks to the placement, I’ve realised that I want to do quantity surveying. And thanks to my manager, I have secured a job when I graduate with the property consultancy Gardener and Theobald.

I learnt a lot…
It was a steep learning curve because Alan and Green is a small firm and I was given a lot of responsibility from the outset. But it was a great opportunity to learn from my manager, a senior member of the firm with a lot of industry experience.

The placements team were really helpful…
They gave me advice about my CV and advice for the phone interview, which I’m sure helped me to secure the placement.

My course has boosted my employability too…
The Custom Contract Administration class proved really beneficial for the quantity surveying and cost management element of my placement, and it was helpful having some experience of CAD drawings.

Uni has been a great experience…
I worked as a property manager before coming to university at 24, so I probably haven’t had the most traditional student experience. My lecturers have all been great and I’ve had other support such as for having dyslexia. Everyone on my course is really motivated and wants to help each other, so I’ve ended up making lots of connections and feeling part of a really supportive environment.

It’s been a life-changing opportunity…
The placement has given me a lot of aspiration to start my own practise one day and I’d really love to go back and live in LA.