Undergraduate Design Engineer (Aerospace Division) Review

I was a part of the Aerospace business unit within PALL, working out of the UK offices located in Portsmouth. At the beginning of the placement my work predominantly was focused around the sustaining engineering effort, working on numerous change tasks to make changes to models, drawings, documents, etc. As the months went on and I developed myself as an engineer, I was able to progress to working on priority NPI projects where I was tasked with a variety of CAD work. Generally, a day-to-day consists of in-office CAD work however, there were a few occasions where I was able to go to the manufacturing site in Redruth, Cornwall and numerous visits to the testing laboratories.

The level of responsibility ramps up as the placement progresses. Initially I had a lower level of responsibility working on minor tasks. As I showed myself to be effective at working on the minor tasks I was able to begin working on more important tasks. During the end, I had a good amount of responsibility for an undergraduate student, where I was working on NPI projects, contributing to design development, and having to manage my workload and multi-task to meet crucial project deadlines.

A big area of skill development would be working with engineering drawings. During university we are taught the overriding basics with little to no practical applications of these. However, during my 12-month placement I have seen significant increase in my ability to work with drawings to the correct standards. My ability to use CAD packages such as CATIA V5 and simulation software such as ANSYS to run FEA and CFD has greatly improved. I have also been able to see my communication skills develop and learnt how to effectively convey my design ideas and suggestions.

Everyone within the office is incredibly helpful and willing to give assistance, they see the value of having numerous undergraduate students and therefore are willing to spend the time to help us develop. I had a great manager who regularly manages my workload to check I am not overworked, as well as giving me opportunities to work on my challenging projects. There were monthly 1:1 meetings where we could seek any more support or guidance if necessary.

There is a positive, happy culture and atmosphere within the office which feels more as though you're working with your friends rather than colleagues, which has made it a very enjoyable place to work. In addition, everyone here is very goal driven and motivated which rubs off on you right from the start. However, like with working in any big corporation, sometimes upper management can make some decisions which the overall workforce aren't happy with which can lower team morale and spirits slightly.

I found my placement very enjoyable all the way through the year. There was a continuous development of tasks and learning experiences/training which kept the work fresh and engaging, it also allowed me to develop myself greatly as an engineer. The atmosphere and the people within the office is another key factor to how enjoyable this placement was.

Yes