N/A Review

I truly enjoyed seeing what a real workplace environment was like for the first time, and the methods that engineers and designers went through to problem solve and create innovative solutions. At times I did feel as if I was holding people back from working at their normal rate as they were having to explain new concepts to me, and I did not enjoy that so much. Also I was with the same person for 3 or 4 hour stretches, which could become a bit intense at times. But aside from this, I really enjoyed my first taster experience of engineering.

For the first day I was of no value to the company as I was just familiarising myself with various software for the week. On day two I felt as if I was of use to the illumination department as I made some light intensity measurements for a display for the Jaguar Land Rover scheduled for release in 2018, but I was of less use in the afternoon. On day three I was of small use in the morning when I calibrated some Electromagnetic compatibility equipment and ran checks on some radio machines, while in the afternoon I helped partly in some testing of various components' withstanding of temperature (Again for the Jaguar). On day 4 I felt useless in the morning as I was with the software team but had never programmed in C before! In the afternoon I took some useful voltage and resistance measurements for the Jaguar Land Rover cluster, and was trying to work out why the voltage drop was so low across a FET transistor, so I felt of some use here. On the 5th and final day, I felt of most use as I carried out some illumination spectrum tests for the Jaguar's display and felt useful here as while I was doing the test the other engineer could do other important things, and was even jokingly offered a job(!) which made me feel valued. In the afternoon I worked more on faultfinding and was able once or twice to guide the other engineers in the right direction, making me feel more valued. The other engineers also said goodbye in a way which made me feel valued.

I was with 1-on-1 for about 3/4 of my time, and the other engineers were mostly up for answering any questions I had about the instruments. The engineers made sure I fully knew and understood what I was doing before letting me run the tests.

I learned a ton about electronic components (in particular semiconductors and P-N junctions, etc.) and feel like this would be absolutely invaluable if I decide to pursue a degree (or beyond) in electronics. Even if I do not, becoming accustomed to the workspace environment was useful, and gave me a taste in what the environment might also be like elsewhere. I also learned a load about the car infrastructure, such as CAN devices, masters and slaves etc.

I was given a timetable by my "mentor" on day 1, but this changed a fair bit, and I sometimes wondered if the people helping me out were that enthralled that I had 'come to help', as I had only just finished my GCSEs! However, once I was in the department, they certainly always had something for me to do, or someone for me to watch, so in that respect it was good.

As it was in an engineering environment, one can understandably expect that it was not to be fun and games all the time! The first day was one of the dullest I've had, as I felt useless, few people talked to me and I had to fill almost 8 hours playing around on software I had never before seen. However, the pace picked up from there with some engineers being friendly and jokey with me, commenting that my tie made me look like a managing director. Lunchtimes and pre and post work went excruciatingly slowly as I had nothing to do and could not even use a computer on some days. But the engineers were almost all friendly and were a good balance between fun and work.

I felt as if my knowledge on electronic components was significantly expanded and that I learned a massive amount about semiconductors and like. However, some areas such as software development were too far beyond my capabilities to be invested into. I also learned a great deal about illumination testing.

I was informed about many of the engineers' day-to-day working jobs and what tasks exactly they carried out. I was informed about working hours, lunch timings, overtime, arrival time etc. and this gave me a great insight into what a full time job at the company would be like. I also learned that a lot of time and effort goes into problem solving existing problems rather than starting new projects. I feel like I know just about how I would structure my day as an engineer there, depending on the department I was in.

I learned that one of Visteon's key aims is exactness. The illumination light intensity values were just 6% out of Jaguar's (extremely precise) values, yet the resistors were changed (to be in parallel to create a potential difference voltage) in order to create an even more accurate intensity, even though the difference in intensity was barely visible to the naked eye! I felt that although there were joking remarks inter-departmentally, the company got on well together (albeit that the EMC testing was in a building 5 minutes' walk away from the rest).

I can honestly say that I am now relatively set on becoming an engineer after the week's experience, and it could easily be the surest I have ever been about my future career path. I would like to do a degree in either sound engineering or electronic engineering and would genuinely consider going to work for Visteon at some time in the future (perhaps on a gap year at University, for instance). The experience was invaluable for this.

This was work experience, so I did not expect to be paid. Moreover, I am only 16 and so I have not yet gained the qualifications to be of a lot of use to a company such as Visteon. The other thing is that I was only there for a week, so the time was barely adequate to even learn enough to be paid.

There were many many opportunities - so many in fact that I had to keep a log of all of the people that I have met! I met my desk acquaintances and several people in meetings on the first day, then some people from the illumination department, then a man from mechanical engineering, then several people in the EMC testing building, then some JLR testing engineers and finally some software engineers. So in my five days I probably got to know some 30 or so people!

Not applicable. I only worked at the firm for one week, so I did not expect to be invited to any social events. And even if I had, I would have had second thoughts as I am only 16.

Not applicable. I am afraid that I do not quite understand the question.

The job is not for the fainthearted, as one who has not studied electronics to a high level (like me) is constantly bombarded with new information that one needs to retain. However, I would recommend it immediately to a pre or post graduate student, or someone who had studied electronics A-level.