R&D Placement Student Review

Great opportunity to see how a huge multinational company goes about its work. Good people and opportunities to get involved with. Plenty of resources to support you in your role. Some placement positions are better than others though and it's a bit down to the luck of the draw. Overall a good company to work for that will give you plenty of things to talk about on your CV. I never loathe coming into work each morning.

Within both of my 6 month rotations I was regularly involved with team meetings and a decent amount of the work place banter! Both of my roles appeared to be significant and of value to the team. Regularly invited to attend other activities such as helping out with charity events in the local area and social events outside of work.

Supervisors are often very busy people who can't afford to spend much time with you. However there are always other people in your team who will be willing to guide you, especially during the first few weeks in each role. More focus could be spent with your new supervisor on forming a clear set of goals and activities at the start of each role.

A bit hit and miss. As you're only in each role for 6 months, you can often feel as though people are reluctant to give you work if they feel they would have to explain/teach you too much before hand. You can always find work if you ask around though, although it might not always be the kind of valuable work you would be hoping to do. On the other hand in 1 of my 6 month rotations I was given a huge 4 month project as soon as I started and had all the resources I could need to manage and complete it all by myself.

When you are given work, you are often given all the responsibility for it too. For example in 1 project I was told what the end product needed to be and was left to plan, purchase, manage, design and fabricate everything that was needed for it. A good level of responsibility.

Although possibly not directly related to my degree (I'm studying Aerospace and this is more Automotive/Mechanical Engineering) the skills I have learnt here will almost certainly help me with my degree, even if it's just the soft skills side (e.g. time management, teamwork, etc.). I'm even more confident that the skills I have learnt here will be relevant after my degree and when applying for and working in a future job. I definitely feel the placement is of more value to a future employer than a Masters year.

I worked in 2 different work environments during my 2 rotations here. The first was more of a large quite office environment, but where you could still have a good conversation with those around you. Polite and friendly, but lacking outdoor light. The second was split between a workshop and a smaller adjoining office. Plenty of workplace banter between everyone and more casual. Good amount of time spent outside.

Could be better. Often felt like you were put into a role before there was any work set aside for you to start. After the first couple of weeks the workload soon picks up though, although this can sometimes be patchy. The application process is very well run though, the best I had experience of.

You can apply to do plenty of courses and will be taught all the skills necessary to do the job. Can be assigned a personal mentor to help you complete the Monitored Professional Development Scheme (MPDS) if you opt to do so. Sometimes refrain from giving you particular jobs to do if they know you don't yet have the training to do so though.

So long as you aren't incapable of doing your job and if you express an interest to return to CAT after finishing your degree, you will be given a graduate scheme job offer. The main reason that I wouldn't like to come back after university is just to try a job at a different employer and in a different part of the country, just so that I had something to compare it to.

Yes, pretty good. All the 12 placements from our intake were quite friendly with one another and we often organised social events with the Grad scheme through the Young Professionals committee (YPUK). Several sports clubs to get involved in with colleagues. Peterborough however isn't known for its great social scene.

Rent and living costs I would say were average. Still classed as a student whilst on placement so no council tax to pay. You earn enough to easily pay for living costs whilst still being able to save a small amount each month. Plenty of shops to get the best deals.

There's not a proper university in Peterborough so no social scene for students. 1 club which is fairly poor. There are however plenty of bars and a good bar crawl with the rest of the placements is always the best bet for a good night out. Peterborough has everything that you need but nothing of what you want.

Yes, all whilst being paid. - Taken part in plenty "Corporate Social Responsibility" events were we interacted with the local community, helping with charity events and advertising STEM activities to schools - Asked to do 3 employer fares where we were trusted to hire a car and travel to far away universities and advertise the Placement and Graduate opportunities. - Had the opportunity to travel to other Caterpillar UK sites to visit other facilities.