Undergraduate engineer Review

I work in the tech dev materials team at Dyson. Here I attend meetings with other people in the business, carry out lots of material testing, write reviews and give presentations. I work across all categories so every project is different. Some pieces of work will be up stream and some will be down stream.

I have learnt so many new skills that I will be able to take away with me to any job after this. I have learnt many technical skills: like using various test equipment, how to write up the results clearly, learnt about the theory of many of the materials we use. I have also learnt many new personal skills through presenting to people and attending meetings.

I really enjoy the work I do. I find it very engaging and allows me to learn a lot of things that my university degree would not. I am also building up a lot of experience for the future. I enjoy working on real life projects throughout the business and contributing to these.

We work three days a week and study two. Every week is fairly similar in time commitment, however some weeks we have an extra study day on a Friday. Timetables are given to us at the start of each term so we know what will be happening for the next three months.

In my work team, I am given a line manager and a mentor. My mentor helps with my day to day tasks and we have a weekly meeting set up to discuss how I am finding everything. If I need anything answered I go to this person. I also have a line manager who I can go to for anything as well. I have a monthly meeting set up with them to discuss how I am finding working in the team.

We are given a course leader who we are able to talk to about anything course related. This has been useful for me in the past. Lecturers are also able to answer questions regarding their course. I have found that some lecturers have been a lot more helpful than others.

For me, I have found that my qualification hasn't covered a lot of the things I come across within my job role. We looked at one materials module in first year and a manufacturing module in year 3. These have been useful but I have had to set aside some time during the work day to study for my job.

Dyson has a lot of extra curricular clubs for all employees. There is also a free gym on the Malmesbury site. The Hullavington site has a running club. In the Dyson institute there are sports evenings on Thursdays and Fridays in both Malmesbury and Bristol. There are also a lot of clubs set up in the Dyson Institute both sports and non sports.

Yes

By the time I finish my degree, I will have 4 years of work experience. The skills I will have learnt through that time at the Dyson institute will be so valuable for any job after. We also will leave with no student fees to pay back and we also get paid.

The application process is quite long so give it your all for the entire process. In the interviews, be yourself and don't be afraid to show why you enjoy engineering/ science. If you get to the assessment day, it is a a really fun day as long as you try to relax and use it as a good experience.