Research Engineer Review

Returning for a second year at Jaguar Land Rover, I was greeted with a more challenging project than the previous year which is exactly what I had asked for. I also was placed in the department I applied for at the end of my previous placement (knowing I would be returning). Overall my placement has been good fun, included a lot of learning and I have worked with people who are definitely highly skilled and passionate about what they do.

Only being in a company that normally takes much longer than 12 weeks to complete any projects hasn't been without it's challenges. A definitely felt valued by my team, however it is clear that some people do question the validity of any work carried out in such a short space of time.

Despite a lot of my work being alone, support from my team has been good. They are always free to answer any questions I have had and point me in the right direction.

My project in my time in Jaguar Land Rover was well structured, with deadlines throughout the summer for various parts of my final report. There was always something to be working on, even if it was the boring stuff like writing up.

Running my own project has certainly given me the opportunity to work flexibly and put my own skills to the test. With the department I am in, and the type of project I am completing there isn't a great deal of importance in my work in the sense that if I can't complete it in 12 weeks the whole project is ruined but it was clear from the off that management expect results so there was some responsibility in making sure my own targets where met.

Being allowed to have another placement in a different department than last summer has definitely helped me gain a greater understanding of the interaction between different departments in a large organisation which I feel is great experience to have. I think that spending any amount of time in a professional environment really helps development of the skills required to be successful in the Engineering industry, being able to work and collaborate with others is demonstrated daily by the teams here. My project is mainly applying things I have learned at university to a real world problem which I feel has given value to my degree.

General office atmosphere was good, everyone was very friendly and always willing to chat. Most of the office went to get lunch and tea breaks together which was nice. The number of available desks did present a problem meaning I had to sit several rows away from my direct team.

Work placement set up was excellent, upon indicating I wished to return at the end of the previous summer, I was contacted by email mid university year to apply for my choice of departments and fill in some basic details about my interests. Once that was done, I received my placement offer in the post around Easter time. Although not directly connected to the company, the recruitment team have helped find accommodation for the 12 weeks which has been a great help. Only issue that I had this year was related to some IT glitches upon my arrival which did take some time to get sorted out.

Training at Jaguar Land Rover is one of the companies strong points. Every employee has access to a huge variety of training courses, both online and classroom based, some of which require authorization from your manager to go on however that is not normally an issue as long as you have a genuine reason to want to go on the course. They also have an excellent Employee Learning Scheme which allows you to get funding for non work related training, the list of valid activities you can apply for is huge.

Anyone who has had a summer placement is viewed in a good light for a place on the graduate program, providing your end of placement performance review from your manager is positive. Anyone on a summer placement also does not need to re-apply for the graduate program and go through the main assessment center process again which is good.

This is one of the best points about doing a summer placement here. With the majority of the summer interns living together, there is always something going on - even during the week. We have had regular trips to pubs for food and drinks during the week as well as BBQ's in the park and the normal Friday/Saturday nights out in Coventry. Things are always organised in an open way and anyone is normally welcome to join in whatever is going on.

Cost of accommodation would probably be much cheaper if you where willing to go and find a house somewhere outside of time with a few other interns. Even though it is a little more expensive, it is not overly costly to live in the halls accommodation with the other interns (JLR people get a discounted rate normally) and I think it is much more fun! The overall cost of living in Coventry is no higher than anywhere else I have lived, there are plenty of cheap places to eat and drink (Scream Pubs are a personal favorite) and there are several large supermarkets nearby.

Few decent clubs and plenty of pubs - can't really go wrong as long as you are with someone who knows where they are going!

Quite a lot of the other interns got together to play tennis and badminton after work this summer, there is plenty to do in the surrounding area if you fancy doing something in the evenings (nice big Odeon cinema within walking distance).