Samantha Tudor

Employer: Alton Towers

Area of work: Visitor attractions

Qualifications: BA economics, University of Sheffield

I worked at Alton Towers during university holidays and after graduation I joined full time as a commercial operations support coach. I saw the graduate scheme advertised and after successfully completing an interview and one-day assessment I started as a trainee.

My job

My first placement is in the commercial department, where my main task is gaining knowledge to equip me as a future leader. I also have a number of projects that I am responsible for, which include improving the corporate events offerings and revising the food delivery arrangements. This involves processing stock orders, meeting suppliers, producing weekly reports and holding regular teammeetings.

I will have future placements in buying and development, events management, commercial management, human resources and marketing. The traineeship also comprises visits to other attractions. I work a 40-hour week, starting at 8.00 am or 9.00 am and finishing around 4.00 pm or 5.00 pm, although the hours can be longer in peak season. I am office based but in the future I will spend 20 % of my time out in the theme park dealing with customers.

Best and worst

I get great job satisfaction from working on challenging projects, but I miss the buzz of working in the theme park in the middle of all the action.