Product Development Engineer Review

Although at times it was a struggle (either with not enough work or difficulties to overcome), I appreciate the learning, both in engineering knowledge and engineering in general, that I have gained during my year at JLR. The work that I have been able to get involved with has been interesting and has used bits that I learnt in my course so far, which I enjoyed. JLR is an exciting company to work for and i would recommend the experience to people.

You really are treated like an actual employee - there doesn't feel like any looking down because of your age/level of experience. The atmosphere in the office is a good one and you are always able to ask others for help. Many people are willing to lend a hand if you need one - you definitely don't feel like you're on your own. There is quite a lot of banter and I have also been able to get to know my colleagues well and have been a long to a couple of department events. However, when you went to ask work from other departments it did sometimes feel like you were ignored because you are a placement student.

There is quite a high level of support and guidance, however, this obviously changes as their work load increases. When you start you are given quite a bit of support to get you up to speed and with your first day induction you get to know quite a lot at the start. I actually sat opposite my supervisor so I was able to get quite a lot of regular support and guidance and he was able to answer all my questions, even the ones I thought were silly.

This one is a tricky one to answer because some days you can be so busy that the first time you stop is the end of the day but then other times where you have very little work to do. Due to the way Product Development works there isn't always a constant level of work and at times there won't be much time to do. However, if you are proactive and ask around there is lots on, so you do have the opportunity to get involved in new things or you can do online training in various things that will benefit you in the long run. Overall, I generally had to ask for more work quite often so this could potentially be one of the downsides of the placement.

For someone coming in potentially just for a year, I was given quite a high level of responsibility. I was involved in working which was to be reported back to helping with target setting for future programmes and that would actually have an affect on the company. My main project I was given the project managing role so basically if I didnt do the work or at least delegate it to someone then it wouldn't get done. I do feel a little bit more responsibility could be given, however, I feel for a placement the level is quite high.

Again, this is another area where I feel the placement excelled. The skills I learnt throughout my year included project managing, thorough data analysis and networking. I was able to learn how important these things are to get tasks achieved quickly and to a high standard. I have also been able to get a good overall feel of what engineering is like as this was my first real world experience. You can learn lots at uni, but until you see it in the real world, you can sometimes get a bit of a distorted view. Each placement you will learn different skills and get different levels of training but I feel none of them are wasted and help you to be a more well rounded engineer

It is quite a friendly office and there are often chats about people's interests or what people have been up to. You are also able to have a joke around and have quite a bit of banter. Birthdays and key events are celebrated with samosas or pies. As mentioned earlier people are really helpful and this also helps to have a good general atmosphere. Although there are lots of deadlines and work coming through, the office has quite a relaxed feel which certainly helped when starting out as it was easier to get to know people.

The process and set up of the placement was extremely well organised starting from the website to the induction process. However, once you start you are then sort of left at the discretion of your department/manager and its down to them how its organised. Obviously, you can ask to be involved in certain work or to shadow people or visit other departments/suppliers but ultimately the call comes down to them so at points the placement can stagnate if you don't chase up or be proactive.

There are lots of training courses that can be completed, ranging from brand awareness to niche areas such as Failure Mode Avoidance. However, most of this you need to arrange/sign up for yourself so you control the level of personal training and development. Saying that, JLR has given me the chance to improve in a lot of areas and have also given me a year's experience in engineering and that is all part of my development as an engineer. So they are willing to invest in you but it's not always handed on a plate.

The placement really gives you an insite into what you could be involved with in the future. Another thing is that due to the extensive process to get onto the placement scheme when you come to your final year you are almost fast-tracked onto the graduate scheme, provided you have done a good job and so I have already successfully gone through the graduate assessment process. The placement scheme is seen as a feeder to the graduate scheme - which has many benefits including a very competitive salary!!!

Because we all were located in different locations it was hard to always get events outside of work together as there were always debates as to where it should be held. However, there were a couple of events across the year where we met up for meals, bowling, etc. which were all good fun. The main social scene was at lunchtimes. We would all go to lunch at the main canteen and these were always a good laugh and I feel I was able to get to know everyone really well (although it did help having quite a few from my own uni). At JLR there is google chat IM service which also helped to increase getting to know people. There was about 10 of us undergrads so it was nice to have a good crowd of people in the same position as you

I actually stayed in Loughborough and commuted across (about 45 min drive) so I don't personally know what the actual costs of living and socialising in Whitley and surrounding areas. Most people lived in Leamington or Kenilworth and from what I have heard, they were pretty reasonable.

Again, living in Loughborough, I don't know the nighlife but there are quite a few pubs, not sure of any decent clubs but then I didn't explore them. Coventry is very close by and so there would be lots to do there

Although I personally didnt get involved much, there are quite a few events that go on through out the year where people can get involved in. These are often sent through the company's employee emails. There is also a scheme were the company gives you a bit of money (£130 this year) to use for a sporting or personal hobby. There are chances to get involved with charity work and also events on campus at university (been on a couple of career days etc.)