Engineering Placement Student Review

My placement year at Caterpillar has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things I have done. I have grown significantly as a person professionally and personally. I have made great colleagues and friends and I have been involved in a vast range of varied projects and experiences. I highly recommend this placement to anyone seeking one.

I felt very valued by my colleagues as I received positive feedback throughout the year from colleagues I had directly worked with. I was aware that some of the jobs I was doing as a placement student, although beneficial for me, were not necessarily fundamental to the company projects but despite this, all of tasks that I carried out were treated as valuable.

I received support and guidance whenever I required it. I always had a balanced workload and this was managed in regular 1-1s with my supervisor to discuss areas I wanted to develop further in or any areas which could be improved in. I was never micro-managed and I was able to do my job in my own way, with support when needed. Additionally, I had a fantastic IMechE CEng Mentor, who got me involved in a broad range of valuable experiences outside of my main job role.

The start of my placement felt slow as I was put through the standard training and gained access to required software/websites. I was keen to start my job as soon as possible and when I raised this to my manager he was quick to act. I have been busy every since and I've had a healthy workload, when I felt that I didn't have enough on, I requested more work.

I was given a lot of responsibility on my placement. I was able to implement new ideas, which were encouraged and supported by my manager and my team. I was given the opportunity to travel out to America to implement these ideas. I had a varied and diverse work load and my personal development was always prioritised as both my mentor and manager actively sought out tasks so that I could gain a broader experience of the company.

I have had abundant opportunities to develop myself. I have received training continuously and throughout the year on relevant topics to my job and also the standard compulsory training. I have gained a different perspective and mind-set on the way I carry out my tasks and myself and this will support me in my final year. I will have an improved understanding of management and prioritisation. The technical knowledge I have gained will support my subject modules and the confidence I now have will support any interactions/presentations I will have to give.

There are three main offices within the building, one has been completely redecorated and is a great working environment with a fun and positive atmosphere. The team in there always get involved with charity events/bake sales etc. The engineering office is yet to be updated and is a bit gloomy, but despite the appearance, everyone is friendly and supportive. I would have liked to have worked in a nicer office/ more fun environment, but the positives I have had on this placement outweighs this point.

My placement was well organised, as is the graduate scheme at Caterpillar. One comment I would make is that the placement scheme is very different dependent on which facility you go to, might be something to note when applying to different locations. Although you apply through the main HR department, the placements are individually managed in their different facilities. A colleague of mine on a different placement has done two 6 month rotations on placement, whereas I have been in the same job for the year but doing very varied work throughout.

This has been one of the main positives on my placements, the emphasis throughout has always been on my individual development and areas of improvement. I have receive more than adequate training and I have hugely benefited from it. Within my first week, I had done my driver training on the Backhoe Load and Compact Wheel Loader. This gave me an enhanced understanding and also a design appreciation of the product group I was about to work in.

I have already received my conditional graduate offer at Caterpillar. The scheme is well structured and offers a broad experience across the company and also the chance to get Chartered, with my placement year already counting towards 1 year of experience. I have made good working relationships here and I would like to come back.

This year I was the placement at my facility, but there were other graduates. The intake for next year has increased so any problems I had won't be repeated. We always organised socials after work, often weekly and on a Wednesday to break the week up. We organised nights out, bowling, dinners, games, cinema trips, escape rooms etc etc.

One of my main struggles was finding accommodation. I would have liked to have lived with other people, however, I was the only placement student for my years intake so I couldn't live with a group of other placements (like many of my friends did on their placement). I ended up finding a studio but this was more pricey than I would have liked given the placement salary. I didn't end up saving money this year as bills/rent/petrol/food took most of my monthly salary away. This isn't a main concern as I saw the year as really valuable experience. Socialising in this area is cheap and cheerful and I've never had a problem with that.

The main facility is located just outside a small village and so nights out have to be planned in advance and normally in one of the neighbouring cities. All local towns/cities are home to a university and so the nights out are always good.

Yes, most social activities are planned individually and separately to work. However, there are always opportunities during the working day too. I attended several engineering related exhibitions throughout the year. Additionally, we had a team building day half way through which consisted of a high ropes course and raft building.