Design engineer Review

I currently support smaller design projects along with driving small upgrades to our test cells. This ranges from designing brackets to hold pipework, fixtures for machines, designing pipework such as measuring sections, coordinating contractors to perform work (such as insulation replacement). I also frequently help update legacy drawings using CAD software

My role is highly varied and i come across new mechanical engineering concepts nearly everyday. this ranges from compressed air systems, to fuel systems, to cooling systems. My CAD skills are also developing significantly and my tutor is coaching me regarding GD&T to help me produce drawings of a professional standard. Ive also learned about material selection when designing components/assemblies.

The work is interesting and challenging (as previously stated i come across new things nearly every day) which i enjoy. I enjoy working on computers and the office environment is very relaxed with many highly skilled and experienced engineers willing to provide help. The company is very proactive to improvements and seek to get the best out of you and seem to be respondent and very approachable when it comes to giving feedback/suggestions of what can improve.

Our apprentice supervisor provided by Appris is very organized and always has a clear structure to how our reviews should go, similarly he sets work in a way that doesn't overwhelm you and provides achievable targets at each review. Our apprentice manager at work is always respondent to any requests/queries i have and will help me resolve any problems i encounter.

The support and mentoring i receive couldn't be much better, i was assigned a highly experienced mentor within our team when i started and they even gave me a fixed desk when our office environment is a hot desking workplace to allow me and my mentor to sit with each other to aid with supporting me. I also have bi weekly meetings with my mentor where we discuss my current workload more formally.

The tutors are Appris are very intelligent and provide good support when working towards qualifications. Sometimes we may complete assignments in strange orders which can get confusing when it comes to submission, however this has taught me to take more responsibility in keeping my work organised. Currently i have started my HNC and my only complaint is we covered a lot of the same topics in level 2/3 (which we completed in a year), such as bending moments, we repeated an elastic band failure experiment and some of the math's tropics were also repeated from the previous year. In general i do ejoy going to college, the atmosphere there is very friendly and easy going and the tutors dont baby sit us, however i would rather be at work during my college days.

Some topics i have studied at Appris have been very useful in my role and some not so much. In general, Appris helped instill classic engineering concepts such as continuous improvement and allowed me to conduct 'projects' in a classroom setting. Some topics (especially within the physics and maths units) seems a bit redundant, especially with access to the internet, for example we spent a few lessons on unit conversion by hand, and whenever i come across unit conversion i just use google.

There has been a significant drop off in work sponsered social events due to covid, howevever they do seem to be coming back. We are required to complete a few hours of community work each year which sounds like a positive experience (i personally havent done this yet). They also hold little get togethers whenever someone is leaving to acknowledge service given to the company. Our team recently went out for a meal as our companies restrictions ended which was a nice time.

Yes

Ive had other jobs and i really cant see myself ever finding a better company, they allow us to enroll in many different training courses, they offer role switching if you want a new challenge/are not enjoying your role, there are many benefits to working here such as not paying for parking, access to health shield (which gives you money back on pretty much anything health related you can think of that requires payment) having access to good facilities that are always kept in good stock, there's exceptional talent to learn from, regular profit sharing, flexible when it comes to booking holidays, rapid to fix issues/problems (i once worked somewhere were we didn't have hand soap/adequate hand drying for weeks, this would literally never happen here). The office roles are flexy time which i enjoy too. We are also providing a critical service i believe in.

Show an interest in the company and what we do/where we do it/ how long we've been doing it. Show a willingness and commitment to self improvement and professional integrity. The interviewers were relaxed and would provide prompts and time to think of responses, i think its important to ask for time to answer questions as it shows you are considerate and reflective rather than just regurgitating rehearsed answers. Show an interest and be vigilant on the site tours and don't be afraid to ask questions, this applies to the interview too as asing questions shows you have been thinking about the role and not just applied for the sake of it.