Mechanical Engineering work placement

deccarroll85

First timer on this.....
I am a 3rd year mechanical engineering student in Galway and am looking for work placement for the summer. Our college is not helping us out like they have done in previous years because of the current economic climate. They're leaving it up to ourselves to source the work.
Basically i'm looking for some suggestions of companies who are known for hiring students on placement, preferably in Galway but would travel if necessary.

00MARTZ00

Google top "1000 companies ireland" it might not get you anything but i suppose its a start.

Mr. Tezza

Maybe try doing a google search to try and find out what companies/factories are in your area.

I think LotusWorks has a few places up there, be worth checking them out,

What kind of placement you looking for, as in workshop or drawing or what?

Loooking up job websites and offering to get them out of a bind for a while to do that kind of job too might appeal to some companies

deccarroll85

Cheers lads, sent off a few CV's online today.
basically i'm looking for something that involves being an assistant to a senior engineer, just for experience and to try get my foot in the door to some work for when i'm finished college.

Darren1o1

I would have someone take a look at your CV too. Most intern ones I have looked at leave allot to be desired and seldom hit on the right points. Is there an area you wish to work in after? I would be targeting (Albeit not exclusively) companies in that area.

deccarroll85

I did get some help writing up the CV, i think it's decent but then again i havn't seen too many to know how good it really is! A second opinion wouldn't hurt though...
Next year is my honours degree year and i plan to branch off into the medical sector, the other options being 'energy' and 'design'. I have tried all the medical device companies in and around Galway but it is pretty difficult to get any communication going with the bigger companies....

Turbulent Bill

deccarroll85 wrote: »

Our college is not helping us out like they have done in previous years because of the current economic climate.

Even if the college isn't offering formal support, I'd approach some of your lecturers (especially those who work in the areas you like) and ask them for contacts - the worst they'll say is no. Lots of companies will be getting bombarded by undergrads cold-calling for summer work, so having a personal contact gives you a big advantage.

As Darren1o1 said, really target your CV to show employers that you can do a job for them and not just treat it as an extended tutorial. In my experience interns are given specific tasks to do rather than be a general assistant to an engineer.

bbuzz

I did a placement with Jaguar Land Rover in the UK and I really enjoyed it, applications are closed now, but you could look into it for next year.

Also went to the ESB for a summer, got some great experience there and applications are open.

Laurali

Hi,

Are you GMIT? NUIG sent us a lot of CVs back in October and we held the interviews back then.

Are you looking for paid work?

As you want to branch into the medical sector, your best bet is to go to the companies in Parkmore and Ballybrit, such as Boston and Medtronic. They always take on a lot of students. They do like to see good cvs and results before giving an interview so make sure that's up to scratch. If you can't get paid work, I would suggest ringing up the smaller (or start up) medical companies around, and asking if it is possible to do a 4/6 week unpaid placement with them to get the experience on paper. I work in a relatively small company and I know extra hands are always welcome, so I'm sure there are plenty out there looking for same!


Sorry, I just read you've tried all the companies around Galway. I still think if you try some of the smaller ones you'd have a better chance. Think openly about an unpaid placement. Maybe you could do two/three days a week, and have a weekend job!