Valadtion Engineer Review

I have really enjoyed my time at Caterpillar. I have had the chance to work across two teams and within one of these teams taken on several roles. This kept the work varied and fresh whilst being able to get as much experience as possible whilst working in a great office.

I have felt very valued throughout my placement. As a validation engineer it was my responsibility to test wheeled excavator software before it went to production, so if my testing was not finished the software would not be released. This meant that I had a final say on whether the software was safe and suitable for release. Though it was not often when I did raise concerns they were always taken seriously and no point did I feel like I was being treated like a student who did not know what they were doing.

Help was always there if I needed. If I had any questions, problems, issues or were unsure of anything I could always ask my supervisor or manager for help. However, I was not constantly watch and had a good amount of freedom in what I did and how I went about it. I feel like this was the right balance as it made me feel valued but at the same time supported.

My work load could vary greatly at times. As my main role was wheeled excavator software validation I was always busiest when a new file was ready for testing. However, in the gaps I needed other work to do. Fortunately, there was plenty work to go around. This included helping one of the other machine teams write their I/O specifications. This was a great chance to learn another system and work with other engineers in the office. At no point did I feel like my placement was a waste of time where I was not doing anything.

Plenty. As previously mention it was my responsibility to test and sign off on wheeled excavator software before it was released to production. I was also responsible for something called the basic checkout. This is when the basic core functionality of the machine is tested. The purposes of this is to make sure that the software is safe to be installed on the test machines in Germany for on machine validation whilst I conducted my full test which could take some time.

I have learnt a lot of new software since starting my placement. Prior to this I had only ever heard of National Instruments, but now I use their software on a daily basis with ease. I also only had a vague idea of what 2 wire CAN was. Now I need to regularly interface with and read CAN messages with the help of Vector software. All this combined with an understanding of how engineering works in the real world has really strengthen my understanding of the discipline.

The general atmosphere was great. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming with cake regularly being available in the kitchen. I found that if I had an interest in someone's work they were always happy to talk about it and answer any question I had. There was also plenty of stuff to do such as ping pong every Monday lunchtime or regular meals out.

This is a very well-established placement. At the beginning, there is an induction to the company that go over general working principal, rules and site safety. Once that is complete there is an introduction to everything that is worked on in office so you have a general overview of what is going on. Then you join your team who will introduce you into what you will being and start all necessary training. Within a couple of months, I was a full functioning independent member of the team.

If I needed it the training was there. As previously mentioned I learn a lot of new software on this placement. As I was working on excavators I also had to learn about hydraulics. At the beginning of the placement there is a two-week placement in the lab where you learn how to use the tools safely as well as some essential skills such modifying wiring harnesses and wiring a Deutsch connector.

I have accepted an offer to return to the company once my degree is finished. The conditional system means that as long as I get a good grade I can come straight back onto a graduate scheme without having to go through another assessment centre and interview. I am quite excited for this and it has given me even more drive to achieve the best possible grade in my final year.

There is always something going on between the placements. We created a Whatapps group at the beginning of the year to help communicate plans. This can range from lunch at the pond to nights out. There is also the local young persons in engineering on site. They also arrange things for the placement (grad and undergrad) such as visit to other site or a night at the dog track.

There is always something going on between the placements. We created a WhatsApp’s group at the beginning of the year to help communicate plans. This can range from lunch at the pond to nights out. There is also the local young persons in engineering group on site. They also arrange things for the placements (grad and undergrad) such as visits to other sites or a night at the dog track.

Unfortunately as I commute in to Peterborough I do not know to much about the night life however I do know a few things about the local area. There are plenty of places to go out for meals with all types of food on offer. You also have god rail links to most of the country so if you need to travel home there is a good chance you can get the train.

You are encouraged to volunteer in local community at least once a year. This is done through either the local STEM ambassador programme or links with local charities. One thing I would recommend is the First Lego League. This is where you go into local primary schools to help them design a build a Lego robot to complete set challenges, with the completion day being held on site. To allow for this you can leave work early so you can get to the school for closing time and do not need to make this time up later.