Any Current/Ex Jaguar Land Rover Engineers here?
Discussion
Hi all,
Just need some advice and/or information please.
Basically, I have been accepted onto the JLR Product Development Engineering Grad Scheme which starts soon. However, some of the people I have spoken to are warning me that by starting my career in this role and company, I am:
1) Severely limiting the places I can work in the future
2) Taking a risk working for JLR as the whole automotive sector is unstable, especially here.
I just wanted an opinion on the above two statements from anyone in the know. If I were to take this position, I would have to pretty much move away from London for the duration of my employment so it would be a big decision from me.
My biggest worry is point (1) above, although I 'believe' it is my dream job role and what I have been working towards, I think that one day I would want a change, but am worried about not being able to move to a different role (either within engineering or maybe consultancy).
What makes this decision harder is that I am currently working, in a position that is a lot broader in terms of career prospects, but really boring in terms of day to day work. If I were to carry on in my current job, from next month I would be stuck here for the next four years to make the most of it.
Any thoughts/help/advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks
Just need some advice and/or information please.
Basically, I have been accepted onto the JLR Product Development Engineering Grad Scheme which starts soon. However, some of the people I have spoken to are warning me that by starting my career in this role and company, I am:
1) Severely limiting the places I can work in the future
2) Taking a risk working for JLR as the whole automotive sector is unstable, especially here.
I just wanted an opinion on the above two statements from anyone in the know. If I were to take this position, I would have to pretty much move away from London for the duration of my employment so it would be a big decision from me.
My biggest worry is point (1) above, although I 'believe' it is my dream job role and what I have been working towards, I think that one day I would want a change, but am worried about not being able to move to a different role (either within engineering or maybe consultancy).
What makes this decision harder is that I am currently working, in a position that is a lot broader in terms of career prospects, but really boring in terms of day to day work. If I were to carry on in my current job, from next month I would be stuck here for the next four years to make the most of it.
Any thoughts/help/advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks
I hope (1) isn't true, because i'm just finishing the grad scheme. As for it being your dream role, I wouldn't get your hopes up.
It's a lovely company with a great product but it's a very big company still using development rules and strategies from an even bigger company, so the engineering you may have done before won't be very similar to what you'll be doing there.
It's a lovely company with a great product but it's a very big company still using development rules and strategies from an even bigger company, so the engineering you may have done before won't be very similar to what you'll be doing there.
Edited by Chapppers on Thursday 22 July 09:14
Thanks for the reply, much appreciated
Is there any chance you could expand on a few points when/if you get a chance:
- 'As for it being your dream role, I wouldn't get your hopes up' --> For me, I think you have possibly hit the nail on the head. I love cars, but lately have been thinking that this may be 'rose tinting' working in the sector/for JLR and that perhaps I should keep it as an outside interest? But 3 years on, are you still happy and would you go for this scheme again?
- From your perspective (I take it you are also in Engineering/Product Development?) how do you see point (1); ie, if you wanted to work elsewhere, do you feel that you have the neccessary transferable skills to do so? --> My biggest worry
- '..so the engineering you may have done before won't be very similar to what you will be doing there..' --> The question I have being trying to get the answer to for a long time - what do you do and how are you expected to go about it (generally of course) ? As in, do you go to work in the morning and sit in front of a computer for 8 hours...or is there more of a practical based testing/development aspect to it? One of the main reasons I wanted/want to work for JLR is to gain the skills and knowledge to work on and develop cars, but I fear this may be not the direction this role takes/covers?
For now, I have been assigned (I believe) my first 'assignment' in a project planning type role, which as far as I can tell is as far away from the cars and Engineering as I could be in Prodcut development?
please excuse the long reply, but I am very close to decision time and am desperate to get as much of this info as possible...
Thanks again
Is there any chance you could expand on a few points when/if you get a chance:
- 'As for it being your dream role, I wouldn't get your hopes up' --> For me, I think you have possibly hit the nail on the head. I love cars, but lately have been thinking that this may be 'rose tinting' working in the sector/for JLR and that perhaps I should keep it as an outside interest? But 3 years on, are you still happy and would you go for this scheme again?
- From your perspective (I take it you are also in Engineering/Product Development?) how do you see point (1); ie, if you wanted to work elsewhere, do you feel that you have the neccessary transferable skills to do so? --> My biggest worry
- '..so the engineering you may have done before won't be very similar to what you will be doing there..' --> The question I have being trying to get the answer to for a long time - what do you do and how are you expected to go about it (generally of course) ? As in, do you go to work in the morning and sit in front of a computer for 8 hours...or is there more of a practical based testing/development aspect to it? One of the main reasons I wanted/want to work for JLR is to gain the skills and knowledge to work on and develop cars, but I fear this may be not the direction this role takes/covers?
For now, I have been assigned (I believe) my first 'assignment' in a project planning type role, which as far as I can tell is as far away from the cars and Engineering as I could be in Prodcut development?
please excuse the long reply, but I am very close to decision time and am desperate to get as much of this info as possible...
Thanks again
I worked at Gaydon before Ford took over and have subsequently contracted for JLR.
I can't understand how opinion 1 would occur. I would expect the JLR Grad scheme to give you a good grounding in most aspects of automotive design. Having been trained with a thorough graduate scheme I would expect you to be attractive to most future employers. Having JLR on your CV should set you up for any job changes you might want to do in the future.
Working for a vehicle manufacturer allows you to experience the full range of vehicle engineering functions, rather than a narrow focus on a particular component and, should you wish to change direction in engineering (or other departments, even HR if you so desired) move internally.
The auto sector is bit unstable, but I think it has been shaken up enough and trimmed to a manageable size. Hopefully focussing on high quality low volume products should be the way for the industry to survive. TATA have a history of supporting and nurturing the companies they take over.
I can't understand how opinion 1 would occur. I would expect the JLR Grad scheme to give you a good grounding in most aspects of automotive design. Having been trained with a thorough graduate scheme I would expect you to be attractive to most future employers. Having JLR on your CV should set you up for any job changes you might want to do in the future.
Working for a vehicle manufacturer allows you to experience the full range of vehicle engineering functions, rather than a narrow focus on a particular component and, should you wish to change direction in engineering (or other departments, even HR if you so desired) move internally.
The auto sector is bit unstable, but I think it has been shaken up enough and trimmed to a manageable size. Hopefully focussing on high quality low volume products should be the way for the industry to survive. TATA have a history of supporting and nurturing the companies they take over.
Edited by niva441 on Thursday 22 July 10:47
Working for a respected company in the automotive industry will train you in the way the pros do engineering. Thay have a lot of extremely talented people there. As far as the auto sector goes I think JLR are in a reasonable position because they have some desirable product lines.
In terms of working on / developing cars I think you need to see what it takes to plan, design & develop a product to appreciate the magnitude of the task, and as you go through departments you will get an appreciation for what each does and whether you want to do it long term.
In terms of working on / developing cars I think you need to see what it takes to plan, design & develop a product to appreciate the magnitude of the task, and as you go through departments you will get an appreciation for what each does and whether you want to do it long term.
I am sure I read recently that jlr are looking to recruit 500 staff for r&d/development type roles. if true then future job security looks good.
I've worked within the tata empire and was impressed by them as a parent company and by the resources they have available to them. media impression vs reality is very different.
graduates are rarely made redundant IME due to the money already invested in them, lower salary costs and future potential. I worked for corus which let north of 5000 people go last year, our technical director said he'd resign on principle if they let the future leadership of the company go in such a fashion. I voluntarily took redundancy and had a bit of a battle to get my request accepted.
I've worked within the tata empire and was impressed by them as a parent company and by the resources they have available to them. media impression vs reality is very different.
graduates are rarely made redundant IME due to the money already invested in them, lower salary costs and future potential. I worked for corus which let north of 5000 people go last year, our technical director said he'd resign on principle if they let the future leadership of the company go in such a fashion. I voluntarily took redundancy and had a bit of a battle to get my request accepted.
I worked for Jaguar cars for many years. It did me alot of good and I learned alot. The experiences you gain are going to be unparalleled if you make the correct choices and this will help you greatly in your future career.
I was also from London (but was happy to leave). I now live in San Diego , california as an automotive engineer and I have little doubt that my time at jaguar has cntributed significantly to my current position.
IMO your concerns are unwarranted
I was also from London (but was happy to leave). I now live in San Diego , california as an automotive engineer and I have little doubt that my time at jaguar has cntributed significantly to my current position.
IMO your concerns are unwarranted
Edited by Marquis_Rex on Friday 23 July 07:33
Lemmonie said:
I work for JLR at a dealership leval and we would climb over hot rocks to get a qualified tech
The original poster was talking about a qualified Engineering position at Jaguar R and D in whitley, so what's the relevance of a technicians position at a dealership exactly?Marquis_Rex said:
Lemmonie said:
I work for JLR at a dealership leval and we would climb over hot rocks to get a qualified tech
The original poster was talking about a qualified Engineering position at Jaguar R and D in whitley, so what's the relevance of a technicians position at a dealership exactly?Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff