Careers Network

Where do our graduates go?

Nish Shakya

Year of Study

N/A

Occupation

Graduate Mechanical Analysis Engineer

Qualification(s)

BEng Aeronautical Engineering


BEng Aeronautical Engineering
Year of Graduation: 2015
Job title: Graduate Mechanical Analysis Engineer
Employer: Airbus Defence and Space

 

Your background:

I think I was quite lucky in that I knew from early on that I wanted to do Engineering. It allowed me to tailor my GCSE and A Level subjects to enable me to apply for an Engineering course at university. Also having a huge interest in aircrafts meant it was pretty obvious which field of Engineering I wanted to study. Loughborough was my first choice when applying for universities; I really liked the huge number of opportunities on offer outside of the degree programme as well as seeing that the University had the Best Student Experience Award for a few years running helped me to choose Loughborough as well.

Where are you now?

I am working at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage as a Graduate Mechanical Analysis Engineer. My main job is to analyse and determine the structural integrity of the different Telecommunications and Science satellite projects that the company is currently working on. As part of my grad scheme I get the opportunity to go on placements within the different departments of the company and am hoping to work in Germany for 6 months next year.

How did you get there?

I took the Year in Industry route for my degree programme and I actually worked for Airbus Defence and Space as well (Astrium at the time). Having worked for a year helped me a lot during my final year, especially for self-motivation to actually do some work, so I definitely recommend doing a Year in Industry to anyone who is a bit unsure. It made sense to apply for a graduate scheme as my next career move due to its various benefits. During my final year, I applied to countless different graduate schemes and luckily got job two job offers. I decided to accept Airbus as I had already worked with the company, the department and the people from before so I knew what I was getting myself into.

Where are you going?

I haven't given it too much thought actually. My graduate scheme is 2 years long and upon its completion, I will go back to working as a Mechanical Analysis Engineer. It’s a very exciting role in a great company and I hope to stay in the company for a while so I think a realistic ambition would be to progress into a management role. I would also like to get chartership at some point so I want to get a Master’s degree in the near future, possibly do it part-time with the help of the company.

What if anything would you have done differently during your time at Loughborough University to help you prepare better for your career/life upon graduation?

I think having worked in the industry for a year, meant I was pretty prepared for life after graduation. I do quite regret not getting involved with Formula Student so I would've tried to get involved in that.

What advice would you give to a student studying your subject at university now?

Try to get yourself a placement, even if it is just a summer placement. The experience of working in the industry is highly attractive to employees, as well as this, the contacts you make will help you massively in the future. Outside of the course, get involved with AU and the Societies. It will help you stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs.