Injector development and CV Systems Reliability Engineer Review

Delphi provided a wonderful insight into how industry works and the type of jobs expected by an engineer. By the end of the placement I felt qualified enough to perform jobs similar to that of other Engineers working there and can now carry a lot of the things I learnt back to my final year at university.

My colleagues were very warming and provided extensive help and support to not only my job role within the company but towards my own development as an Engineer and I felt confident enough asking as many questions as needed with the belief that I would receive a valuable answer as well as steps in the right direction.

The management was extremely supportive, all the way up to executive levels. The interaction I had with a huge variety of management was sublime and helped me tackle difficult situations where I required across the board help in terms of putting me in contact with the right people and having enough confidence in me to manage and complete some quite extensive tasks despite me only being a student.

As I was working for a variety of different teams on a number of projects, my time was always filled with exciting new tasks to both learn and excel at. I was always given the opportunity to work/assist on projects if my superiors felt either my ability suited the necessary work requirement or it was an opportunity for me to learn something new.

Despite the obvious learning curve when joining Delphi on placement I was trusted with leading a project that would in turn become the dissertation required for the University work required on placement, I felt confident enough in both my own ability as a developing engineer as well as the assistance from others around me that I could tackle such a large project and develop the necessary leadership skills to help me in future endeavours.

The hard skills developed while on placement have benefited me greatly while returning back to university, my time management and ability to organise work as well as various individual and group projects has greatly improved how effective I can be at completing various tasks as well as vastly increase the amount of free time I have while staying on top of a large work load.

Due to the variety of teams and age groups of the engineers working in the office there was always a good atmosphere and never a dull moment when doing work, due the team built nature of the work carried out there was always something to talk about whether it be work related or just general chit chat to keep an elevated mood.

Immediately on arrival you are treat not as a student but as an engineer, this is great as you know what the real world can offer as isn't dulled down to a 'student level' the workload matches this and is a great incentive to apply if you don't mind being thrown in the deep end and get a firm grasp on what actually happens after university life.

The company were very eager to help develop me as an engineer, I had a supervisor who was very keen on assisting me with my IMechE related developments and always kept me on track to submit everything when it needed to be with prompt feedback on anything that needed changing.

Due to the changing of the company's name and splitting in two, a hiring ban is currently in place and therefore prospects are unknown, however due to my performance at the company managers and superiors alike have said they would have no problem hiring me in the future due to me ability to complete tasks and provide a good atmosphere around the office.

Immediately within the first week of the group of students starting we had set up social outings to get to know each other better. Despite the vast number of students and diversity across the teams we worked in the social aspect was a big bonus if you're moving to a new area and hope to meet new people.

Being in the South East of the country the cost was relatively higher compared to what university life was like, as it was a paid placement and I was fortunate enough to share a house with a couple of friends I already knew at university the day to day costs were greatly reduced and left for a lot of extra money to spend socialising and enjoying myself.

With London only an hours train journey away the nightlife possibilities were endless as there was always somewhere new to try and the addition of having a variety of placement students and colleagues who might already know the area means there is never a dull night and is always exciting to look forward to.

There were ample opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work, whether it be a team night out or helping in various IMechE related STEM activities there was always something to help develop skills across the board and you always felt welcome when deciding whether or not to participate.