Undergraduate Engineer Review

Day-to-day was often a mix of office and lab based activities with approximately 50-60% of my time being spent in the labs. Within the labs I would spend most of the time supporting on-going manufacturing projects with testing, failure analysis and analysis to sustain existing products, with some time spent troubleshooting and developing test protocols for new products. While the office portion of my role ranged from data analysis, report writing, presentation building and occasionally some CAD design.

Beginning with developing my existing skills; I have been able to vastly improve my presenting skills after being given the opportunity to partake in an on-going manufacturing project by analysing and testing devices, which then allowed me to report out (at some point weekly) to a team of engineers assembled from various Pall sites in the UK and US. Report writing was a key part of the role and over the year they became much more succinct and precise. New skills I learnt were formal project management techniques, AutoCAD Inventor and MiniTab (a data analysis software).

Unfortunately one of the major projects had a tough time developing while I was at the company (for reasons out of our control) so I had to pick up work elsewhere, finding these opportunities myself gave me a sense of personal responsibility as the team treat you as a full time employee so expect you to be personally responsible for what you work on and achieve. The new work I picked up gave me the opportunity to work virtually with teams in Pall sites away from Portsmouth where I would be responsible for key projects in an on-going manufacturing projects. I was also able work in new labs testing brand new products where our data was critical to the company going forward.

When I first began at Pall, there were heavy restrictions in place on-site, with most people working from home. So for the first 4/5 months I felt my progress was incredibly slow relative to previous undergraduates as it was harder to ask questions naturally as I worked through projects and get first hand practical assistance. At Pall you are assigned a mentor from their graduate scheme (RDLP). Without a doubt this was the most important factor to my placement experience. My mentor (and other RDLP members) were the most helpful and friendly people Pall could have possibly given the roles to. My personal mentor helped improve and develop my placement experience by being a conduit for questions, assistance and any general frustrations which we were able to use to change up the placement in the second half of my year. While another mentor took time out of their day to teach me new 3D modelling and printing skills.

The culture from a corporate level is one of "continuous improvement" and "may the best team win". This obviously fosters a competitive environment where everyone strives to do their best for their own personal development. However, at a personal level it is a friendly, helpful and welcoming environment. Rarely have I come across anyone who was not willing to assist or answer questions, and were incredibly grateful that you would come to them for advice, whether it be directly about the work or not. Shout out to Lucy who works in the canteen for 5 star restaurant recommendations (and baguettes)

My enjoyment grew as my placement progressed. Initially I was very overwhelmed and with the COVID restrictions onsite, quite lonely. I rarely saw my team and only bonded with them in daily meetings. After the initial on-boarding period and work began it got better but reached a plateau as the current project was very repetitive. However talking to my mentor and the team manager I was able to rectify this and start more diverse and interesting work. The end of my placement is when I enjoyed it the most as I felt like I was working in a team and company where I belonged as I finally understood my place and responsibilities and felt as if I had grown from when I began.

Yes

As with any company, do your research before even sending an application. Get a baseline knowledge of what the company does, what they develop, who they work with, their core values, stance on political subjects that matter to you, etc. Then if you decide this is a company you would like to work for make sure you reiterate those points in your cover letter and tailor your CV to the job role (what skills are they looking for? Put relevant university modules towards the top. etc.) In the phone interview, relax, it is informal. Use the opportunity to ask questions. The assessment center is a relaxed experience, take your time and be yourself.