Product design engineer Review

The placement offers a lot of good opportunities, I was working in Body Engineering on pre-development and while this is an interesting department it can be quite slow when waiting for projects to pick up. This was generally due to waiting on suppliers etc as a lot of the development is outsourced and found my work was mainly project management. I did however really enjoy my time here and I feel as though I learned a lot. While my role was slow, I can see from my colleagues that life as a Lead Engineer is a lot different

I really felt as though I was valued, and was providing something to my team. I wasn't just given the rubbish jobs like I expected and was allowed to do what I needed to do with my project and expected to organise myself so I had a lot of responsibility

My supervisor was new to leading people, so it was difficult to get him to understand that I needed help and couldn't just be left to myself all the time. My manager was very helpful though and found me things to do in my down time, and supporting me with any issues I had either project related or generally with the company

There were a lot of down times, so it was difficult to keep busy and often found myself just sat at my desk waiting for home time haha. This is because a lot of my projects relied on other people and I was often waiting for them to finish their side and send it back to me, or waiting for bookings in workshops etc. When it did pick up I was very busy, so it wasn't very well balanced but that's just the nature of the type of work I was doing

I had multiple projects that were my own, and once I was more experienced I was left to complete them myself and follow my own timelines. I was trusted to keep to my own timetable and make sure that I was following the plan to a timeline that would mean it is delivered on time

I feel as though even if I don't pick up any specific engineering skills the confidence and time management I have gained will help me a lot. I work 7-3:30 here due to flexible working (I like being able to get home early) so I'll never see a 9am as early again haha

We have smarter working here, so no one has a fixed desk. This makes it really difficult to bond with your team. Saying that though, everyone is generally really nice, and supportive, so no matter who you end up sat next to you won't feel uncomfortable. It is a very welcoming environment

Everyone was well prepared for my arrival, but although I had a project set for me it was rather slow at the beginning when I needed to settle in to the role and research exactly what it is we do. I feel as though everyone was aware I was coming, and they had thought a lot about what I could do that would be worthwhile

I have done a lot of training courses while I've been here and they've all been very helpful, some of these courses cost the company and they still allowed me to do them so it was definitely a good experience. I have done training in things relevant to my job such as Catia or part viewing software, and also in general things such as excel

I will likely return to JLR for another placement, and possibly for the graduate scheme. It is a good, stable company to work for and provides good job security and good perks. JLR have a very good graduate scheme and I look forward to taking part in it should I be invited back

There is a social scene if you live in a shared house or in liberty point on a shorter placement, but I live in my own apartment so wasn't as involved. There have been a few gatherings for drinks, bowling, and the christmas party but I wouldn't say as undergraduates much was organised it's more people making friendship groups and getting together

The cost of living in Coventry is fairly cheap if you are able to secure a non-student property or non-houseshare. The costs of house shares or student houses in coventry are rather excessive and I pay the same for my one bed flat as people living closer to town pay for a room in a house. It really depends how close you want to be to the city center but I drive and there is a bus from outside my flat to the city center so I think it can work living further out if you look in to public transport before you move. A lot of people live in Leamington if based in Gaydon, which is a lot more expensive so I just travel further (I go to uni in coventry anyway so now I don't have to move, so this is just my personal experience)

Nightlife in coventry is good when the students are around, but as soon as they go home it's pretty dead. I don't really go on nights out or anything so I don't really know, but there are good bars and pubs if you just want to go for drinks with friends

There is a lot to do, you just need to find it really, and it depends a lot on whether you have your own transport. There are a lot of nice walks you can do, and places to explore. A lot of the nearby towns have nice highstreets, and there is always somewhere new to go