Ewan’s Year In Industry at Jaguar Land Rover

Ewan’s Year In Industry at Jaguar Land Rover

Considering a placement year abroad? Hear directly from our students.

Where were you located for your placement and what work/projects were you involved with?

For my placement year, I worked within the Virtual Integrated Test Automation Laboratory (VITAL) at Jaguar Land Rover in Leamington Spa.

I worked on testing and validating the software of the Electronic Control Units for the unreleased Range Rover, specifically ensuring network integrity. I was involved in expanding the capability of the testing property, as well as maintaining it, and ensuring it was up to date.

How has the placement benefited you and what have you learnt?

The placement was excellent! Having a break from university work and seeing how engineering is completed in industry is an eye-opening experience, and having a little money in the pocket is always nice! Working at such a large company contrasts with my past placements, meaning I was involved with and got an insight into the structure and formalities of working in a large team.

It also helped me to become far more confident in approaching new people and asking questions. Being thrown in at the deep end in a large team, or leading meetings with people you don’t know forces you to make good first impressions by asking questions and being inquisitive.

Seeing how large corporations work has been insightful, and witnessing their competencies first-hand was great – such as securing economies of scale, their vast industry contacts, and engineering experience.

My role expanded as time went on, which I was very grateful for. As soon as I got up to speed in one area, I was given the opportunity to tackle something new which meant I was constantly developing. I really learnt what it’s like to be an engineer in a big company. Your role plays a small part in a much larger picture, and it is satisfying to know that you have made a difference.

If you could go back twelve months and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Moving to a new city with a new job as the country went into lockdown was hard! Make an effort with the colleagues at work, especially fellow undergrads to get a social group early. It makes living in a different city much more enjoyable!

The work may be slow for the first few weeks as you and your manager work out your role within the team. Try and use those first few weeks as productively as possible. During working hours, try and learn as much as possible and get to know your colleagues.

What are your standout moments from the placement?

While my role was rather abstracted from the final product, I dealt with the software behind some of the cutting edge and luxury features on the Jaguar Land Rover cars. Seeing the new Range Rover being built in the pre-production stages on the production line and then having a look around and seeing the luxury features in action was very rewarding.

What advice would you give to somebody considering a Year in Industry?

Go for it! Living like a real adult and having a 9-5 job and being in a real engineering situation is incredibly useful when trying to work out what you really want out of your career. You’ll soon know what type of company you want to work at, and whether the industry you are completing your placement in is the right one for you. The only downside is returning to your course a year delayed – but it’s also a great opportunity to grow, and even better if you can convince a friend to do a year in industry with you and share the experience!