OEM Customer Support Engineering Placement Review

Cummins is a fantastic company with a broad range of opportunities for everyone, not just in engineering. The placement was challenging and enjoyable and I was involved in some important work that involved supporting large customers. Sometimes the work became repetitive but the travel opportunities that arise throughout the year made this worthwhile as it allowed me to go and meet various people from different companies while working on company projects. I would recommend the placement.

I felt valued by most of the colleagues in Cummins, 99% of the people who work there are more than happy to help you whenever you need support. The department I worked with were fantastic and I learned a lot from each of them.

I was given plenty of support and the development program at Cummins is designed to help progress you in various ways. They were always on hand to help.

The work load generally is quite busy. There are some days where your main tasks are completed but you can always find work to do whether its within your own department or helping colleagues from other areas.

I was given plenty of responsibility and which generally increased once I showed that I was competent in my role. There is definitely a correlation between your work ethic and attitude and the amount that people rely on you to help them; its a sort of code that tells you how well you can do your job.

The skills I developed in Cummins will definitely prepare me for my masters year as it has completely changed my attitude towards work. I believe that it has increased my graduate employability as I have more than enough to talk about when I start to apply for full time work. The various departments you can get involved in also helps you to understand what area of engineering you would like to go in, which helps you refine your search for jobs after graduation.

The office atmosphere is welcoming and you can walk upto a colleague for help at any time. It is a social but quiet environment that allows you to work with other people easily. The equipment provided is generally very good such as the laptop which I use daily. Some of the equipment such as monitors, keyboards and mice are outdated and could do with updating.

The placement was well organised by the HR department and communication between myself and my manager for my own development was good. It is upto you as person to take control of your own development and progress as far as you wish but the company lets you do this quite easily.

Other than my normal salary, the company is very good at funding travel arrangements for any work that needs to be done. I have not been involved in many training programs which would require further investment so I can't comment much more.

The future prospects are very appealing as there are so many doors and opportunities in the company not just within the UK but around the world too.

The social scene with other students was quite good. We regularly arrange social events such as go karting, bowling, nights out to town just to name a few.

The cost of living varied from student to student. Most students Rented if they weren't from the area and the costs ranged from £300 a month upto £600 but there is something for everyones budget. A 2 bedroom house share cost me £340 per month.

The nightlife was very average in the town itself but Newcastle isn't very far which is a very studentized area and a fun night out guaranteed.

There were some activities to get involved in after work but most of the activities were down to yourself to organise. The students at Cummins had a facebook chat to communicate outside work hours if anybody wanted to go out.