Business Analyst/Manufacturing Engineer Review

Thoroughly enjoyed my job at Jaguar Land Rover as I was part of a quite up and coming department. After a few months of understanding the way the company operates and gaining trust by members of my team, more and more responsibilities were handed to me which made me feel valued and caused me to enjoy my role.

It took a little bit of time to gain my team’s trust at first but after continuously delivering what was asked from me and often doing some continuous improvement work which was not directly assigned to me, I felt that my team trusted me. I would say however, that not all the other undergraduates were as lucky as I was.

My managers level of guidance fluctuated depending on the importance of the matter at hand. When things were tight, I felt micromanaged at times but to an acceptable level. At times, I was given complete freedom and would only ask a few clarifying questions to ensure quality work and manage expectations.

It differed quite a bit but this was due to the role that I was in. Often times when traveling abroad the work would be intense and hours would be very long. Sometimes, however, we would finish on time and the work would be quite light all day but this was on the rarer side.

Within two or three weeks I was performing analysis for presentations that were to be presented to directors. I was handed more than one project throughout my placement where I would give my opinion and perform the work how I best see fit with my manager approving and commenting on the work.

My role was not very technical and was more consistent of project management. However, I learned lots of soft skills which are essential for any role in industry and with my degree. I believe my presentation skills have improved dramatically and I’ve also done some improvement to my conversational style during meetings.

There was a fair combination of fun and tedious work but this is common in any role.

The organization of the company as a whole was quite messy. There was a big push to improve the work through standardized work but it was not always achieved. I don’t have too many complaints on how the placement was set up by HR as a whole to be perfectly honest.

My firm didn’t particularly invest in personal development for me but it was also because firstly I never asked to go on trainings nor did I have the time most of the placement. I did learn to use one of the applications that the company used as a result of one training.

Currently the situation at the company is a bit bleak. I was told that certain departments have more of a chance than other departments of getting hired. We were told to wait until January to find out if we were going to get hired by the company - i.e we should find out soon.

The company is quite male dominated at least in the manufacturing department - while I made good friends, a little more diversity would have been preferred.

Solihull is expensive and one should definitely look to live with a roommate/flatmate. Expect high rents but nothing compared to London where I previously studied.

Terrible night life in Solihull - end of story. Birmingham is barely acceptable but expect a trashy night.

Yes, they have the Employee Learning Scheme, where one is able to select a course to study outside of work. There were also weekly football games with other colleagues at work.