Mechanical and Electrical Engineer Review

I have greatly enjoyed my work here and found it very rewarding; the work was extremely varied and managers aim to introduce those on the Formal Development Program to the most exciting aspects the industry. In addition to this, there are many people on the scheme, so there is a good social side to working here.

Very much; my managers were very eager to get me involved in all the biggest projects and most interesting work, and I felt they were approachable, and made sure that I was happy with what I was doing.

The company have a 'buddy scheme' where a current graduate shows you round the place, and introduces you to various other people on the scheme which was handy for meeting new people, in addition the mentor scheme, which I found extremely helpful. I am on the eMPDS scheme working towards Chartership and so my mentor (a chartered engineer himself) was great in helping me through the process. Additionally they are there to solve any issues you have with any placement, always acting in your interests; this was extremely helpful when a particular project had come to an end and I felt that it would be a good time to move to a different area which could help me greatly in my degree - my mentor acted against the preference of my managers to allow this, which was of great benefit to me. Managers themselves are eager to make sure I'm happy with my work, and will do all they can to resolve any issues.

The workload can vary between areas of work and times; I found that it accelerated as the placement went on, and I like to be busy, but I never found myself completely overoaded. If I found myself idle I could ask my manager for work and he'd be quick to oblige.

Obviously it takes a bit of time to get settled in, but what surprised me was the readiness of senior engineers and manages to delegate work that is essential to the project, to young engineers. I was given my own project with a large impact on the overall system in development, I even presented the design to the chief engineers of the project, meaning doing the work felt very rewarding.

MBDA, as an IMechE accredited company, advocates gaining chartership through IMechE and other engineering institutes, and makes the process extremely easy. In addition to this, various training courses on CAD and modelling software are available to employees, as well as training in group work, presenting ones self to others and so on. There are even language classes available to employees who have an interest.

Very friendly! There are a lot of young engineers around (MBDA seem to have invested heavily in the future employees) to socialise with, and many senior engineers who are very welcoming to being asked for help if it's needed.

The placement was well organised, with work instantly available when I arrived so I was kept busy, and lots of events organised through the year to develop those on the development programmes; MBDA seem to have a very well developed placement scheme. There were meetings through the placement by my mentor, manager and HR to check on me.

MBDA appear to invested a great amount in developing young engineers within the company, and have put a huge amount of time to encourage undergrads to come back, and grads to apply. They organise large FDP events through the year, the salary is very competative, and there is a large amount of training available to those on the schemes throughout the year.

It's easy to make an impact at a company, providing you work hard and are easy to get along with! There are many opportunities provided where those on the FDPs can excel and make a good impression, so make the most of it! I believe the target grade is a 2:1 although many at the company have achieved 1sts; the company is one of the most technologically advanced in the world, and so needs engineers to suit!

There are many other undergrads and grads on the scheme - I'd estimate about 100 in total including business trainees, apprentices, grads and undegrads, so there are a lot of young people to socialise with. I've been part of several social football teams, while there are yearly inter-departmental cricket and football competitions which are great fun. Me and a load of the undergrads and grads also organised trips to Leeds, Newcastle and Zante which were absolutely fantastic; a few have moved areas however I still keep in touch with them all.

I'm based at the Stevenage site, and initially shared a house for a year with 3 others in a nice area (we had a huge kitchen, large rooms, sitting room, garden, conservatory) for £275pm, however in a 3 month placement over the summer it was £350 for a double room in a house share - showing how costs increase with temporary contracts. This is a good housing cost for a town fairly close to London though, where socialising costs are low, drinks are cheap, and work is fairly central so driving distances are short.

The nightlife isn't great in Stevenage! Although they have a lot of good bars, pubs and curry houses, there are hardly any clubs, although living so close to London, I frequently go to see friends there where there are many opportunities to hit the big superclubs. This didn't stop us hitting the bars fairly regularly though. The other site is in Bristol which is a fantastic night out though.

As I mentioned previously, I've been involved in several social football teams and the inter-departmental football competition which is great. The gyms in the area are very cheap (£13pm or more), the people on the FDP organise nights out through the year and there are many sports clubs in the area; I took up squash, running and thai boxing in my placement!