Placement Student - Applied Mechanics Engineer Review

Applied Mechanics is an engineering department that conducts hands-on component and system-level mechanical and vibration testing.
As a placement student in this department, I was responsible for independently handling my own work orders from internal customers. This work included: fatigue testing on a range of components, ultrasonic bolt measurements and calibrations, strain gauging, mechanical push and pull tests and engine / genset vibration tests within the local Daventry plant and in the field.
With this work, I was responsible for test planning, instrumentation, execution, data acquisition, processing, reporting and presenting.

I was given a high level of responsibility in this role. From near day 1, I was given the independence to complete work orders assigned to me, as would be the case for any qualified engineer on the team. I was also allowed to take responsibility for working on and troubleshooting some equipment in the lab, which was a big highlight.

Developed a range of skills in hands-on fixture build, equipment maintenance, and instrumentation.
Technically developed proficiency in test setup, data acquisition, data processing, data presentation and reporting.
Particularly developed proficiency using Excel, Siemens Testlab and MTS 793

Although a large degree of independence was given in this role, support and guidance were available from both technicians and engineers at all times.

The team atmosphere was very welcoming, and the department was very self-sufficient and relaxed with good team cohesion; however, certain attitudes were allowed to be expressed, maybe more than they should have been.
Fairly limited opportunities to integrate with the wider company, and those experiences were very standard for an engineering company.
Cummins does not provide much support for social events and one thing to mention is due to the limited number of placements and grads there is not much of a social network among new starters.

Thoroughly enjoyed the placement and I really don't think I could have got anything better. The hands-on nature of the job and the wide range of projects and general tasks were particular highlights for me.

Yes