Intern Engineer (Product Development) Review

To start with, the job was a fair bit different than what I was expecting. I am studying mechanical engineering, and the placement was for product development. I was expecting to de doing design/calculations. It turns out JLR does a lot less engineering work than expected, outsourcing lots of it to external suppliers. This means that the internships are much more based on liaising with suppliers in a project manger role than expected. And talking to other interns the vast majority seem to agree.

Whilst as can be expected, most employees don't have time to babysit you all day, if you go to them with proper questions most are more than happy to spend some time answering (and won't just try to get rid of you). Emails very rarely get answered, but that seems to apply to all employees, so try to get a phone as soon as you can!

I think this varies a bit more by intern, but my manager always has a high workload and never seems to have time for me (despite having time to socialise with other employees). So a fair bit of the time I'm left trying to do my best with very little guidance.

It varies. Sometimes I only had one task to do, so when you are waiting for data of somebody else you're stuck with nothing to do. But at other times I've had multiple tasks to juggle, which is a much better experience as you can pick and choose between them as you wait for people, and even if you get a bit bored of one.

From right near the beginning I have been doing projects that are important to the company, and some aren't as small as you might think. Rated highly because whilst my input hasn't been groundbreaking, they are important enough to be sorely missed if not done, but there hasn't been too much responsibility on myself that I've been worried I'm going to make a mistake and cause lots of problems. As always, if in doubt ask someone - then you get to blame them if anything goes wrong!

Degree studies so far? Next to none. Beyond? Quite a bit. As said before, a lot less engineering than expected, so I haven't really learnt anything new that will help in university exams. Excel spreadsheets have been a main theme, something not encountered in uni. But as for jobs; its shown me what I don't want a career in (my particular role - don't worry, I'm not saying all of JLR is bad), so I'm very glad I've found out now rather than signing up with an 18 month contract after I graduate.

It's certainly no Google, and people worked most of the time. However everyone was nice to speak to, very friendly, and people do just stop and chat. At least ace to face everyone knows they're on the same team - it's the external suppliers that get a bit of the rudeness.

It's hard to answer this - everything has gone smoothly which is certainly a positive, but no specific great points. You have a relaxed first day which is great. The only downside that I can think of is that the managers don't seem to talk between themselves, so people get wildly different levels of responsibility, boredom, and perks. Ranging from taking 6 month old Range Rover Sports home for the weekend, to set reading for days on end.

To answer this, I'd say as much as needed. You do spend most of the time working for them, but engineers will sit down to explain things to you, questions always get answered, and people will help you with what you need. Interns can get their JLR driving licenses if deemed necessary, so a reasonable amount.

Biggest UK car company spender in research and development - so probably the best automotive company to be working for. Interns get a shortcut into the graduate scheme, promotions are always possible. Can't think of any negatives!

Most people live in Liberty Park, and from there there's always people going to the put, out on Friday nights, going shopping together, giving each other lifts to work. Brilliant all around. Everyone is friendly and gets along. I guess if you don't live in Liberty you might feel a bit left out, but if you live nearby you'd always be welcome.

Seems pretty cheap to me, even on a student budget. Halls cost less than £80 a week including bills and fibre internet, so that seems good to me. Supermarkets aren't too close, but are just about in walking distance. Pub right next door which sells drinks for £1 on Tuesdays.

Walking distance to all of Coventry, which is a pretty reasonable place to be. It's cheap which is always good. The main nightclub is Kasbah if you want to Google it. Apparently Leamington has a good nightlife as well.

I was invited to some things by work colleagues, so in a way yes. But I'm not sure what this question is expecting? Playing golf with the managers? In another direction, you can get given £150 towards driving XKR-S's or off-road some Land Rovers, look up ELS (employee Learning Scheme) when you start your internship.