Placement Engineer Review

Overall I found my placement adequate. The work wasn't as engaging as I was hoping for and hasn't given me much opportunity to develop technically. My colleagues were very supportive at all times and showed genuine interest in me & my development. I have developed good work-related skills, received training & gained a good friendship network.

I feel very valued by my colleagues - although very professional, we have developed good relationships and work well together. My work is taken seriously and I am given proper tasks that are within my capabilities. I have built a good rapport with lots of different employees at my placement.

I was given varying levels of support and guidance, occasionally it felt like I had been thrown it at the deep end and other times I was having my hand held. Overall I feel I was given an adequate mix of autonomy & guided work - allowing me to develop as required for the role.

My workload was quite sporadic, in that I would occasionally be very busy each day for a period of a few weeks, but also there were periods where there wasn't much to do and I found myself filling my time. I found that because I didn't have many long-term responsibilities that if there wasn't a specific job I was on with there was little for me to do.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility, projects were allocated to me to work on and I was given a good amount of autonomy with them. Although I wasn't given any long-term responsibilities, the jobs I was given helped me develop my skills & were sometimes of value to the company.

I was in a very project managerial role - meaning my technical skills were hardly developed. I did gain some knowledge of my chosen field but it was usually through extension by checking contractors works & designs. Being on site did allow me to develop skills that will transfer into my degree studies.

The atmosphere in the office was relatively relaxed, considering it was a large open plan office with over 200 people. There was quite an office culture about always being in on-time and leaving on-time. Most people were friendly and helpful but there were occasional instances of people being unhelpful due to departmental differences.

The placement was set up fairly well. We received good communications & information prior to the start of the placement and throughout the year. On arrival we had a three day induction which allowed us time to settle into the role & received departmental tours (These were poorly organised).

The company were keen for personal development through internal training. I attended courses which improved things such as safety, data interpretation & Risk Assessments. I think more training should have been provided as the courses were quite sporadic and often filled up very quickly. Overall the training on offer was good but not very accessible.

The long term-employment prospects are relatively appealing, the graduate starting salary is well paid. Overall - the job isn't very technical so I feel as though development in the field could be relatively hindered long term. There was interest in me returning as a graduate and overall Nissan seem very welcoming to previous placements.

Yes. Approximately 80 placements start at Nissan at the same time, so there is plenty of opportunity to make friends & develop social networks. Nissan encouraged creating a Facebook group & there were a couple of events throughout the year that encouraged placement mixing, including the inductions & placement awards.

The North East is a low-cost of living area and Nissan is a fairly well paid placement.

The nightlife in Newcastle is very good and there are plenty of bars and clubs that are popular among students. Particularly Osborne Road in Jesmond & the Ouseburn Valley. Being from the area it was good to be able to show some of the placements hidden gems in Newcastle & surrounding areas.

There weren't many Nissan-organized activities outside of work. But