Undergraduate Design Engineer Review

by RP Aerosystems

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

2.9/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    2.3
  • The Culture
    2.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • Overall, I really enjoyed the placement; unfortunately there were a couple of issues that detracted from my experience with the company.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I felt valued by most of my colleagues, however there was one individual who had a habit of belittling and talking my student colleague and I down. On the whole though, the majority made up for this, though at times it was upsetting.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • The placement supervisor we were assigned was not supportive and did not seem keen to provide guidance. He provided unclear briefs, and seemed reluctant to answer any queries we had. The rest of the management team were usually very willing to provide support, and I felt able to ask as many questions as I needed to off them.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • As with any company this varied depending on what projects we had to work on. At times it was very high paced and had very short deadlines to meet, but there were other times when we were struggling for things to do.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • Right from the outset I was working on components that were going to be used on the trainers. This meant that the learning curve was very steep at first, but as I got to grips with the software and how the company worked it became easier. I designed several products right from the concept to production, and on more than one occasion was dealing with suppliers directly. There was usually opportunities for us to contribute to design review meetings.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I improved my transferable skills such as team working and time management which will be very useful in the future. Working in a company has given me a good skill set to take forward, however the CAD work specifically is not something that I would consider a career in. This is not as a result of my experience in the company.

    4/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • This varied greatly depending on who was in the office. Sometimes the tension was evident and the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, but at other times there were moments of hilarity following a particularly well timed one liner from one of the bosses. However if the bosses weren't around the atmosphere lifted considerably.

    3/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • We were rarely lefty with nothing to do, however the management of the tasks assigned to us left a lot to be desired. There was no single person that all the work for us to do went through, which meant that sometimes we did work for one person when another person assumed we were doing something for them.

    2/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • We did not go on any formal training courses, however we did get the opportunity to work in all departments of the company. This gave us valuable insight into how the trainers are produced, as well as allowing us to learn what its like to work from the drawings we produce. Most of our colleagues invested a lot of time training us, and ensuring we understood what was asked of us, and how we could achieve it.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • 1/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • If I were considering a career in this industry and was offered a job at RP I would consider it. I would not see it as a life long career, but it would be a good graduate role despite issues I have encountered with a colleague.

    3/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • There were a few colleagues that I went to the pub with, but it was rare that a big group of us from work all went out. There was one other placement student, and we got on really well. We became a good team, and could always rely on each other for support when needed.

    3/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • I managed to live comfortably on my pay packet, which was by no means big, and have some money left as savings.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • Littlehampton is not known for its sparkling nightlife, there is only one club! However if you enjoy nights in the pub and live music, there are a lot of places to go.

    1/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • It honestly depends on what you are looking for; there are volunteering opportunities in and around Littlehampton, and there are gyms and sports clubs to join.

    3/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

South East

February 2014


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