Aerospace Engineering Degree Apprentice Review

On a day to day basis I can do admin tasks using Jira, Excel, and organise meetings. I have done a range of things including running simulations on systems and writing reports to compiling reviews and documents. I attend daily and weekly meetings and work as a team to finish tasks.

I have developed lots of new skills. The new skills include being able to use software including, excel, Model Based System Engineering Software, modelling software, Powerpoint. I have also improved my communication skills and presentation skills especially with having to do end of placement presentations. I have definitely increased my networking skills.

I enjoy my programme to a certain extent. Some of the placements i have been in have been very enjoyable however i did not enjoy some of the other. I would enjoy the programme more if it was easier to tailor the programme to each apprentice by changing placements more easily.

The programme is structured well with a 6 month start to the programme which provides grounding. Then you have 6 x 5 month placements which are meant to give you a good variety, these could be organised better with ensured and guaranteed variety, sometimes you can get a lot of support placements and no design placements for example

I have received a lot of support from my managers. This has gotten better as COVID has eased with being able to come into the office and get help. The HR team have also been very supportive of me so far. Sometimes the support can feel a bit forced from certain staff.

The training providers are very happy to provide support. They often reply to my messages outside of working hours and on the weekend which is above and beyond. There are resources online to access 24/7 but sometimes the actual lessons could be a bit better and go through examples more.

The theory that I learn at uni is definitely applicable to what I do in my day to day job. The one thing that I would suggest is increasing the use of MATLAB and simulink and modelling and maths software which i feel like we may have missed out on more because of COVID

There are not many company events on at the moment because of COVID. BAE has been quite strict on covid regulations so events and activities have been restricted. There have been online company events. They are starting to pick back up again now and there are team social events depending on each time you're in

Yes

I would recommend BAE to a friend because the pay is great, the course is 5 years which means you get a batchelors degree and 5 years work experience and there are also many other apprentices so it is very easy to make friends and makes up for losing out on Uni

I would recommend researching the company and looking up competency based interview questions and practising them. I would recommend practising Iq tests online like choosing the missing piece of the Puzzle. Definitely get work experience in engineering or similar because they really value that during the interview and application process.