How a degree helped me get my dream job at Jaguar Land Rover
Huzaif Banday
Automotive and Motorsport Engineering B.Eng (Hons) - Started 2018
Huzaif Banday graduated with a first-class degree and is now a Manufacturing and Operation Graduate Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover.
I arrived in the UK in 2018 to start my degree in Automotive and Motorsport Engineering from Kashmir, India. In this blog, I talk about my experience and how I ultimately got my dream job at Jaguar Land Rover which I began as a graduate in September 2022.
Why the University of Huddersfield and the UK?
I wanted to study Automotive Engineering since I was 10-11 years old. I was very good at mathematics and enjoyed it a lot, my dad being a civil engineer, encouraged me to explore engineering. Looking at cars and Formula One, I always had a soft spot for cars, and I always wanted to go and do something related to them. My dream companies to work for were Rolls Royce and Jaguar Land Rover in UK. When I found the Automotive and Motorsport Engineering course at the University of Huddersfield it just ticked all the boxes for me.
When I finished school in India it was time to start my university degree, that was the moment I realised I wanted to study abroad, I considered England, Canada or Germany. I decided that England is the best option as I knew the language very well and I got into my dream course. Germany is the automotive hub of the world, but I had the language barrier there and in Canada I applied to two universities, but neither were Automotive Engineering, my preferred choice.
In Kashmir, we have an education consultancy called Manchester Education Consultant. The process of applying to university with them was smooth as they handled everything right from the application to the visa process, they welcomed me at the airport and booked my accommodation. When the moment to choose the right University came, I chose the one that was within my budget and had the modules I was interested in. Huddersfield was my first choice as besides having my dream course it also had some people from Kashmir living in the area as I was only 18, I was comforted by the fact there would be people from Kashmir close by, in case I felt homesick. I was also thinking would it be good to choose a town instead of a city, but Huddersfield is so close to Leeds and Manchester and other beautiful places around that this made Huddersfield the perfect choice for me. I've got no regrets about Huddersfield being a small town as I have enjoyed my four years because Huddersfield is so well connected, I have done lots of travelling around the UK, so I'm pretty satisfied and I think that I made a good choice.
Moving to Huddersfield and my University Life
As it was my first time moving to the UK, I tried to make the most of it, making friends from all around the world, we had the same ambition of visiting England and we visited the South of England, because of the airport we've been to Manchester a lot of times and Leeds is nearest to Huddersfield. I have also been to Scotland and Wales. As I love to explore, I would never sit at home. This way I managed to see the most beautiful places in England.
For anyone coming to study in the UK, it is a great cultural experience as India is not a place where you would see people from different countries. You may see people from different cultures because India is culturally very diverse, but you would not see people from different countries. That's something that changed when I moved to the UK as in a single class, you would have students from Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Vietnam etc and from all over the country as well as all over the world.
When you start working on group projects with people who are from different cultures, that's when you learn a lot, you understand how different cultures work, how different people from different countries approach things and there's a lot to learn. Before joining the university, I hadn’t been exposed to this as I had my friend circle from Kashmir and for me, being in such a culturally diverse university was a great learning experience.
My University Experience
I went through my course modules and details even before I started, and I enjoyed it as it met all my expectations. I knew what I am going to experience in my three years of studies. The first year I felt that it was like a continuation of my A levels as it didn’t count towards my final year, I tried to enjoy it and spend time with my friends, work part-time and to get to know what it’s like living in Huddersfield.
I found the transition into second year very smooth, and I enjoyed the modules more as I had the automotive design, engine systems and dynamic systems which were more towards the automotive side of the course, and I loved studying those.
My placement year was very beneficial towards my final year, I think that's when you are most serious about the course. That's the year when you have all the modules related to your course. I had aerodynamics, project management, design analysis, and vehicle handling. I had four modules in my final year, and I enjoyed all of them. Doing a placement before my final year helped me understand the final year and the importance of each module. Apart from these four modules, I had my final year project on which I worked with my supervisor. I am very proud and satisfied with how it went off as I got a first.
Whilst at University I tried to enjoy everything. I have joined and been part of the Indian Society where I met lots of friends and fellow students. University facilities and support services are always there for you. Being an engineering student, I didn’t get all the engineering software in the library, so I had to use the design studio to do the work that required certain software.
The course is so demanding academically that the use of a wide range of excellent facilities provided by University of Huddersfield really helps. That's the only way you can excel. During my first two years of university, I had lots of support from my lecturers. This is the support that every student should get, where they wouldn’t tell you how to do it but would encourage you a lot and make you do your best on your own. Which I appreciated as it was different compared to India.
The wellbeing team was of great help whilst on my first year and in the moments, I felt lonely, they are always there for you, they’ll offer you support for your mental health as well as study support if needed.
During a particularly hard time (Covid restrictions), I got a lot of support from my placement team. During Covid-19 lots of people lost their jobs and it was a hard time for everyone, whilst I was trying to apply for work experience. The placement team did a phenomenal job supporting me on each stage of the application. I was getting rejections every now and then and I kept on applying and it came to a stage where I was ready to give up as I had tried my best and that’s the moment, I thought that this is the situation, and I will just let it be and short after that I had given an interview I got an offer for a placement from Schaeffler (UK) Ltd in Sheffield. I would express my gratitude to Dan and Amanda from the placement team who supported me throughout.
Reflection on my Placement year
The third year was the most difficult as it was in 2020 when the Covid pandemic started and I was applying and looking for placements, and I went through almost 50 rejections as it was a very hard time for job applications. I was lucky enough to pass my interview and get a job at a German company called Schaeffler which is based in Sheffield (about 20 miles south of Huddersfield). They specialise in manufacturing bearings, gears, gearing, driving elements, manufacturing other parts and accessories for motor vehicles and wholesale trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories. I worked there for a year. I was an industrial engineer in a placement year. I worked in the office as well as the shop floor which was a great balance which helped me to put the knowledge I gained from university into practice. It was a great opportunity for me to develop my IT skills with the software they were using as every company has its software for their day-to-day tasks, which helped me a lot after finishing my placement.
After finishing my yearlong placement with them I got offered a part-time position during my final year at university. Besides that, it broadened my knowledge in the industry so much that in my final year when I had to look and apply for graduate schemes it was easier for me as I had already been through the process, and I believe that my placement helped me get my job at Jaguar Land Rover.
When I went for the interview at the Jaguar Land Rover, the first thing that I had to do was a technical presentation and I did it based on a project I did whilst I was on my placement. They were impressed by the presentation and the first thing they said was that if I’ll be successful with my job application, this would be similar to what I have to do at Jaguar Land Rover as they’ve got similar equipment there as well and that’s when I confirmed for myself that doing a placement is very beneficial for a graduate role as well.
Jaguar Land Rover graduate job experience
I have been extremely lucky securing a graduate job in comparison to my placement experience. I didn't apply for many jobs because of my placement I knew what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go and what I wanted to specialise in. During my second year, I was applying to almost every placement opportunity advertised. Whilst for my graduate role I knew I had experience in a certain field, and I looked for jobs only in that field. I applied for five or six jobs for my graduate role, and I was offered an interview with Jaguar Land Rover, and I secured a job with them.
When I moved to the UK, I knew that Jaguar Land Rover is the biggest automakers in the country and I always dreamed to work with them, I tried during my placement year but didn’t succeed. I got an equally good placement, and when it came down to my final year, I had this thing in my mind that I will try again and as soon as an opportunity for a Manufacturing and Operation Graduate Engineer at JLR was advertised I decided this will be my job as I had worked in Industrial Engineering during placement. I worked hard on the application, cover letters, CV, and everything.
Whilst I had lots of online assessments which were challenging, I had to put all my effort into securing myself an interview. It was my first in-person interview and around four hours long, which was tough for me as I only had experience of online interviews during my placement application process.
I’ve been at JLR for two months now and it has been as exciting as it looked at the beginning. As an automobile enthusiast, when you’re surrounded by cars like Jaguars or Land Rovers and you get to work around them, I don’t think there would be any better feeling. In this short-term what I have loved about JLR is how they look after their people. On the other hand, if I look at long-term, career progression is what matters the most to me, though only time will prove that, but definitely looking around here the career progression looks very promising. I hope that it all comes in good time.
Currently, I am in the Trim & Final department where I am based most of the time at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham where we got Jaguars being manufactured while on some days, I do have to visit our Solihull site where we got Land Rovers being built.
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