Applications Engineer Placement Student Review

I found my placement enjoyable as it gave me a unique opportunity to see several aspects of the company which i may not have experienced in another placement.

All the members of each department i entered was welcoming and friendly. There is also a good social atmosphere especially among the other placement students and graduates.

This varied in each department as some closely managed my progress where as others preferred to give me space and only contributed when i asked for help.

There was always work for me to do if i was proactive and went looking and asking for it.

This varied from department to department but generally was was given my own projects to manage and i was responsible for their outcome.

The placement not only improved on skills i already had, such as my CAD skills, but also gave me an insight into some new skills such as sales and marketing.

Although this varied generally the atmosphere was great. Everyone is friendly and happy to help where possible. this was especially evident among the graduate employees and the other placement students. There is also a subsidized sports and social club.

During the placement everything ran smoothly however sometimes certain aspects of paperwork had to be chased. Also before the start of the placement i had to chase several time for certain bits of information from a certain member of the staff without reply, however when i was passed onto someone else this issue was resolved.

I was given 2 weeks of fairly extensive training at the start of the placement. There was also a lot of training during the placement as in all the departments everyone was willing to help me to improve my proficiency in all the software. there was a large focus of development from the start.

This would depend on the department as i enjoyed some more than others but the atmosphere and the focus on development makes it a very appealing place to work.

Almost all the placement students and graduates i met were very friendly and there is a great amount of social interaction both inside and outside of the workplace. there was however no pressure.

This very much depends on what area you choose to live most placement and graduates live in the same area (Moseley), although this is not compulsory, which is a very nice area but reasonably priced housing. Trains and buses to the city centre are fairly average priced and there is plenty to do there.

Birmingham is a great city with plenty to do. the bars and clubs are mostly good depending on what area your in but the drinks can be very expensive.

There is a subsidised social club which offers a range of activities from rock climbing to go-karting. There were also several separate events organised for the new placement students in order to integrate them as well as possible into the company.