Software Validation/ Mechanical Validation Engineer Review

I've had a really enjoyable time here at Caterpillar, by dividing the placement into two 6 month rotations it allowed me to gain experience in two different areas of engineering. Both of the teams I was in were very friendly and helpful, with the first holding monthly office challenges which kept the placement fun.

By about one month in to each rotation I was doing meaningful engineering work. Whenever I did good work it was fed back to the placement supervisor who then passed it on to myself and my university supervisor. In my current rotation I am included in engineering discussions and feel I am able to contribute with my own ideas and experience.

In my experience both rotations had a 'hit the ground running' approach, once you start you'll be given work straight away and then there will always be someone around to help with any questions. In my first rotation my supervisor was away at meetings a lot of the time but the colleague I was sat next to was very knowledgeable and happy to help at any point. In my second rotation my supervisor was around more frequently and either him or a colleague were always willing to help

Personally, I have been very busy in most of my placements, with both of them offering the potential to work overtime (not compulsory). In my second rotation, passed the first month I have never found myself with nothing to do. However, I do know that some of the other placements do sometimes struggle to find work to do in their teams

In my second rotation I was tasked with creating test plans and overseeing them on the test beds. If we weren't going to meet our deadline or something went wrong I was the first point of contact for the test engineer meaning I often had to make decisions on what to do/how to resolve an issue; a level of responsibility I was not expecting on my placement year.

Besides the standard industrial experience you'd get with almost any placement (holding meetings, teleconferences, presentations etc), Caterpillar also gives training on and utilises the 6Sigma processes, which I have had to use in my work. Caterpillar also runs the optional MPDS scheme, so you can be assigned a mentor and submit quarterly reports which could mean you already have one year counting towards your chartership

My first rotation had a very friendly atmosphere, with an unofficial 'cakes-for-any-occasion' policy and monthly challenges including beer mat flipping and paper plane competitions. My second rotation was in more of an office type environment, so team challenges were less feasible but my team (although small) are all very friendly and still have monthly meals out and a monthly 'breakfast club'

Admittedly elements the first week was quite badly organised, we all arrived at the security gate on our first day to find that the people at the gate were not expecting us. Once we'd got to our teams (after two days of induction training) most people had issues with there accounts/emails not being set up so much of the first week was spent on the phone to IT support. After the first week, however, there's fairly little to organise so everything ran seamlessly

Everyone was given 6Sigma 'yellow blt' training on their first day, which was very brief and quickly forgotten by most, however a couple of people were given 'green belt' training, which had significantly more meaning. Both of my supervisors were very supportive, asking what I wanted to get out of the placement, including organising for me to visit the vibrations department to get some experience there. At one point there seemed to be an opportunity for company-funded training (presentation and time management courses etc) however that never went anywhere.

Most placements were offered a place on the graduate scheme if they only had one year of university left. If you had longer left the company doesn't like to offer anything as they can't be sure what their recruitment demand will be like passed one year. However, both my team supervisor and placement supervisor have told me to contact them directly if I wish to return here after university

There is a young professionals committee in Peterborough (and possibly at other sites) which organises social activities for the placements and graduates, including visits to other sites, nights out and meals. Most of the placements in research and development (about 12 of us) all sat together at lunchtimes and occasionally met up for other things (BBQs, meals, pitch and putt etc)

Peterborough is a fairly cheap place to live, my accommodation this year is cheaper than any of my student accommodation but I feel like we got a particularly good deal with that one. Eating out is never too expensive and pints are ~£3.50 in most places. There's an Aldi and Lidl in Peterborough and Sainsbury's & Tesco's so plenty of choice

Peterborough doesn't have it's own university, only a campus for Anglia Ruskin, so it doesn't have that student culture that other cities may have. There is one main club (with three rooms) for nights out but there is a good range of pubs in town. Taxis are only £5 to and from the city centre if you book an Peterborough is well connected to other places including Stamford or Cambridge if you so wish

Peterborough has an Ice rink, Bowling Alleys, a couple of golf courses and driving ranges. There is also a football team, cricket and basketball teams organised by people within the company with talk of the young professionals committee trying to organise more sporting opportunities to placements & graduates. However I am not aware of many non-sporting activities