L6 Aerospace Engineer Review
at BAE Systems
Degree Apprenticeship
Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering
Preston
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
3.9 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4/5
-
Overview of Role
4/5
-
Skills Development
3.6/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
Product Safety Engineer - Produce argument that aircraft is acceptably safe to operate. Facilitation of Project Safety Committees, review and generation of safety assessment reports, Zonal Safety Assessment, interfacing with customer and/or regulator.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
Almost always, there are bound to be mundane/boring aspects of any job, but they are vastly outweighed by the opportunities and experience gained by the interesting and exiting work that is associated with aerospace engineering.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Stakeholder management, communication, technical safety knowledge, understanding of design considerations and performance of fast jet aircraft, engineering lifecycle - particularly early lifecycle.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
The phases of the apprenticeship are very well defined: With an initial training phase, followed by various placements across the business, finally a two year specialisation placement in the apprentice's desired exit role.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
3/5
The support decreases slightly throughout the course, however this is to be expected as an apprentice becomes more experienced and confident, hence less support would be desired anyway. Of course, in instances where a more senior apprentice needed to reach out, the correct support would still be available.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
I have never felt like I wasn't able to access support from college, and there are numerous additional support teams who fall outside the academic domain, such as wellbeing and safeguarding.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
This is likely to differ depending on the role, personally; I don't feel that many of the degree modules were applicable to my particular role. However I suspect my role is slightly unique in that respect. The course covers the main areas of aerospace engineering in reasonable detail.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
No, however there are plenty of opportunities should I ever have the capacity to support.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend BAE Systems to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Attitudes to apprentices are very good, and it is clear that the company values early careers.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to BAE Systems?
Be engaging and demonstrate a willingness to learn. Remember that it is in the company's interest to develop you as an engineer.
