Engineering Placement Review

Each day consists of partaking in meetings, whether these be recurring or ad hoc meetings. You are encouraged to come into the office and sit within your team's area. These meetings and sitting with your team will require you to be able to work well with others and will give you tasks that you then need to be able to do either individually or contact others within your team or externally for help.

This placement has required me to use various Microsoft applications such as excel and powerpoint on a daily basis, which means that I am now very comfortable with their abilities. I have had to learn how to use various internal systems such as test planning and logistical systems. I have also learnt how these systems whilst not interlinked, can be used to aid with work on other systems. Also writing and presentation skills.

Yes. I have been given responsibility for writing test plans that will go on gas stands or to our materials and prototype workshops. I have also individually written up orders for the creation of prototype parts. There have also been technical and design reviews that I have created myself with limited aid and then presented to small and medium sized groups of more experienced engineers. I have also driven logistical efforts for testing and validation.

I was paired with a more experienced engineer who was already a manager to be my manager. Each manager started out with regular meetings and then transitioned to weekly catch-ups to ensure that I was coping with my workload and was getting it done within deadlines. Other engineers within the team were happy to help with queries of mine. The engineering placement coordinator got all of us placement students to meet once every 2 weeks to discuss any questions we had that wasn't specifically work related.

The atmosphere of the company is very welcoming and you are actively encouraged to come on site and engage with fellow employees in-person and build up a rapport with them. Other employees are always happy to help with any questions you may have and aid you with your work where possible and reasonable. When you are given work, the employee handing you the work almost always has recurring meetings and check-ups to see how you are doing.

I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I am a chemical engineering student working in a mechanical/automotive engineering role but have still been able to pick up my work at a good pace a deliver. My hobbies are car/motorbike mechanics and motorsports, so working for an engine/turbocharger manufacturer has been very interesting. It has been eye opening to see just how much work goes behind bringing in even just a new component, let alone a whole turbo to a production level.

Yes

Definitely research the branch of the company you are applying for. I applied to the turbo division of the company. So having knowledge of how a turbo works and what the different parts are called was a huge help in getting hired. I am not a natural presenter/speaker, so I did not shine compared to the other candidates during the assessment day when presenting, but I later found out that my technical knowledge shone through and was the driving force behind my hiring.