Development Engineer Review
by Caterpillar
This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
-
The Role
4.5
-
The Company
3.9
-
The Culture
3.3
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
I had a great time, it was very rarely dull or boring and there was always something interesting going on.
I felt like and was treated as a full member of the team.
My supervisor threw me into the deep end from the very beginning however was always willing to help when I became overwhelmed by work content and quantity. Time was always taken to explain concepts or issues fully to me and I was always pushed to arrive to answers myself when possible.
This varied a lot throughout the year as is to be expected with project work, however I always had the opportunity to ask for more small jobs to complete or do some learning. I made a point of asking my supervisor for more work and was always either given something or told that I should just keep busy until projects required my input again.
I was given as much responsibility as any other member of the team as the year went along.
I couldn't imagine being a graduate stepping into industry for the first time like I did on this placement. For that fact alone the year has been invaluable, although I have learnt a lot more about how industry works, what is expected and a whole heap of other skills that I will use for the rest of my life.
The Company
The atmosphere was decent, typical engineering office I would imagine. It was very rarely silent although not distracting.
Very well, very rarely needed to ask for information.
There was a decent amount of mandatory online training to be completed and there was also extensive resources available through the Cat intranet. All other training was on the job and completed as and when required. There was a lot of training available on site but wasn't communicated very well. This was an issue across the department.
Sports and Social Club
Company Parties/Events
Above 25 days holiday
Placement students are fast tracked to interview/assessment centre for grad jobs. The company looks after its grads very well, with several currently in management.
The Culture
There were only three placement student so naturally it wasn't great. Other sites have better social scenes. The average age of the office was quite high, so the social scene was limited to Christmas night out etc.
Not bad at all, there was always some cash left over at the end of the month.
Plenty of pubs and clubs in the town centre, usually busy over the term time weekends.
Same as anywhere else, plenty to do if you go looking.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Engineering
West Midlands
October 2014
