Mechanical Engineer Review

I enjoyed the work that I had to do as it involved a wide range of tasks and activities, and my placement also gave me plenty of opportunity to go out and get involved on site - something which I particularly enjoyed.

After overcoming the culture shock of the first week or so, I did feel valued by my colleagues as they gave me tasks and responsibilities. The whole team was one tight-knit group which was nice to be incorporated in.

My manager's background was electrical, whereas I am a mechanical engineer. However where he was able he did give me support and guidance with regards to my tasks and general information. My buddy provided me with lots of support and guidance throughout all stages of my placement, which was much appreciated. Other members of the team, whilst I may not have worked with them directly, were all very helpful and supporting with my work.

At the start of my placement the site was incredibly hectic, and so it was difficult for me to be included in the working going on due to my inexperience. However once my 'buddy' returned from leave I was a lot busier, with at least one large task and a number of smaller jobs to be working on at any one time.

During my placement I was given responsibility for managing my job - design and installation of a set of brackets. For this I had some guidance from my buddy but I was responsible for managing the task. I was also given responsibility for placing subcontractor instructions, purchase requisitions, generating pump testing plans, carrying out maintenance and providing supporting calculations and measurements for others in the office.

The placement gave me brilliant experience of working on an active site and seeing designs/plans being implemented first hand. Whilst I received no specific training for my role, the skills I picked up through carrying out the wide variety of tasks can be applied to many aspects of engineering, both in my degree and in my future work.

Enjoyable, familial atmosphere in the office. A small group of 8 close-knit people working specifically on this project with civil, electrical and mechanical engineering expertise. Sometimes, due to the nature of the work, it got quite stressed, but there was never any animosity between staff members and generally the atmosphere was very good.

The pre-placement administration was relatively well organised, however my placement location was changed about a week before I started, which led to a small element of confusion. When my placement started it was very busy in the office, and so there wasn't initially very much for me to do - only a couple of tasks had been set for me to start with. However after a couple of weeks this changed, and I was given more tasks and more responsibility, and from then on everything was very well organised.

I received no specific additional training and development, other than what I learned just from being on my placement.

Very appealing. Having been on a summer placement there is a strong chance of then taking part in the graduate development scheme, which I have heard only good things about.

Due to the location of the project, and the fact that many people including myself commuted long distances to get to work, there wasn't a massive social scene after work. We did go out for meals/get meals delivered etc, so there was still an enjoyable social aspect even if it wasn't massive

Don't know, commuted from home.

Never went out in Leicester, so don't know.

Besides work meals, not really many opportunities at all.