Mechanical Engineer Review

I work in research and development which means we do a lot of experimenting with new designs and testing to verify the design. CAD modelling is a large part of our development so we can make calculations and even simulate scenarios to help produce the optimal solution to a given problem. We use numerous different testing methods to cover a wide range of potential problems with a design and thus make sure it is suitable for all situations.

As part of both my degree course and in company working I have been developing my CAD modelling as well as CAM techniques. I had no prior knowledge on the subject prior to the apprenticeship, but have been interested in learning for a while now, and now I am able to produce models to a good and ever improving standard.

So far I am getting a lot of enjoyment out of my programme. Working in company has been fun learning and very rewarding to complete a task that has real purpose to it. My degree courses have been interesting and up until now not too difficult, however the difficulty has of course been increasing as the courses go on.

I think the programme structure is fairly good, although it might not be for everyone. The degree lectures are formatted in one day of teaching per week. This day includes six, 1.5hr lectures - resulting in a 10hr long working day. This can definitely be quite exhausting at times but it means that all the teaching is done in one go and the rest of the week is in company. For the first 6 months of my apprenticeship I was uni full time during the rest of the week completing a practical skills induction course (Level 2 Mechatronic Maintenance). This meant I was building new practical understanding to bring into the company full time. During this time there were monthly back to work days where we could go in and continue to be apart of the company even while full time studying. In terms of organisation; Siemens have done a good job of organising the apprenticeship and providing me with help as and when I've needed it along the way. However I have had some issues arise due to miss-organisation from the side of the AMRC Training Centre such as not being told that I was needed in centre full time for the first 6 months until 3 days before I was due to start or never being told about the back to work dates.

Siemens have been excellent at providing me with support both while I was away from company studying and now that I am working full time. Any issues I've had have been an email away from being resolved and they did a great job of keeping in touch with me while I wasn't in office.

AMRC have provided me with lots of support across the different courses. All of the practical trainers were very helpful with providing us with support as well as extra knowledge and tasks that were outside of the course. My degree lecturers have also been very supportive from adding extra revision materials to setting up out of hours meetings to help students who are struggling.

A lot of the degree content has been useful for in company work. The CAD course has by far been the most relevant as we use CAD fro all of our products, and as I had no knowledge of how to use such software before had this has given me a big head start in company. Some of the practical skills I learned will also come in useful once I start getting more hands one with development and testing.

Siemens does have extra-curricular activities for workers to get involved in which were introduced to me as part of my induction, as well as through emails when they have been available. I believe these have been more limited due to COVID-19, but as I do not partake in any of these activities I cannot fully comment.

Yes

So far Siemens have been great in terms of the level of support they have provided me with as well as have a good work format. They did a great job introducing me to the company and the people I work with and have eased me into the working environment.

The main piece of advice I would give someone is to be confident. The application and interview process was simple and the induction process was very well thought out so I don't think someone would need any specific advice for it. As long as they are confident and relaxed, their skillset will carry them through.