Undergraduate Mechanical Engineer Review

Thoroughly enjoyed my time at JLR. It's such a varied workplace and with all of the new, interesting development going on, you're never bored!

Initially I felt quite like a typical intern, but a few weeks in and after producing some quality work, colleagues start to respect you and value your opinion. A few people have even desired my input into things because I have "fresh eyes" so can potentially look at a problem and think of solutions that no one else would find.

The support given to me has been great. My Senior Manager sits within the team and is always available for a chat about the experience, what the next steps are etc...

This varied. There were some days spent twiddling my thumbs because there wasn't much going on in the department, but then there were some times when I had a lot to do and my schedule was packed for a week.

Initially not very much, understandably they have to be wary that interns are just that, interns. But, as I said, once you start to show skill, knowledge and you produce quality work you find you'll get more responsibility and the chance to work on things alone.

I haven't really done much training while on my placement, mainly because I didn't need any in order to do the jobs I needed to do. JLR do however have a huge database of different training courses and events that you can attend if relevant. I did develop a few skills in managing people and also learned the importance of building relationships within the workplace in order to get the help you need.

The atmosphere is great. I found that most people were quite laid back and enjoyed their work, while also having a bit of a laugh with each other. A few people were also just back from China and had brought back some of their finest confectionery which was.... interesting.

I felt, at the start, like I'd arrived at the wrong time as there wasn't much to do so it felt a little disorganised. This changed though and I did actually work on several projects that had been planned for me.

They do a lot. You have an induction day to get an introduction to the company and to meet your peers and manager. Then you have the on line training system that you can choose to do courses on. There is also the Employee Learning Scheme, where each person on JLR's payroll gets £200 per year to put towards a learning experience of some kind. I chose to do the Land Rover Experience which was amazing!

I've been offered the chance to come back for a return placement, which should lead on to a graduate role in 2016. This is exciting as there are a lot of grads and people who have recently left the scheme in my office and all seem to hold it in high regard.

Yes, most of us lived in the same student flats in Coventry which allowed us to get to know each other a bit better and there were also always people to do things with.

Transport can be expensive. Coventry isn't anywhere near Gaydon, if you're working there I'd suggest living in Leamington or closer as I'm looking at 300 miles a week, just for work! Otherwise there are your usual shops and if you live in the student accommodation rent is roughly £80 pw.

Coventry is very "studenty", and the prices reflect that. Otherwise you have Leamington Spa which is lovely with some more upmarket places, but a little more expensive.

Yes, because there are so many interns you can always find people to do different things at weekends or evenings.