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How my Automotive Engineering master’s helped me land a job with Jaguar Land Rover

Abhijeet graduated from Bath in 2011. Ten years on, he is a Project Analyst at Jaguar Land Rover. He tells us about his career in the automotive sector.

Developing invaluable skills for the automotive sector

Engine development was one of the key things I learnt during my degree. And after I graduated, I was able to apply this knowledge for seven years in the engine development industry. Before my current role at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), I worked at Cummins where I was a Lab Operations Engineer and later a Senior Combustion Performance and Emissions Engineer. At Cummins I had the experience of working on the development of a 60-litre engine and at JLR, a 2-litre engine. I started at JLR as a Performance and Economy Lead Engineer, leading attributes development of a next-generation JLR diesel engine.

Ten years later...

Man sits on a rock in the middle of a river, surrounded by forest.
Abhijeet used the engine development skills he learnt on his course to forge a career in the automotive industry.

Now, as Project Analyst, I apply program management practices like leading risk and change management for a program. I also lead various transformation projects related to software delivery in automotive applications. And I am working on some software transformation projects to enhance software delivery in Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

Overcoming the challenge of balancing work and studies

I came to Bath to study from India. I didn't have much money available so I found a part-time job in my second week in the UK. I worked every single weekend till I found a job in the automotive sector in March 2012. It was a very challenging time because while I worked ten hours a day on weekends, I would see my friends going out enjoying themselves or having that extra time to dedicate to studying. For me, I only had Mondays to Fridays to focus on studies and no time for fun!

But I came out of this experience with some good lessons for life. I learnt to focus on the result I wanted and to not deviate from my final goal. In those years my main goal was to find a good job in the automotive sector. These were difficult times but with some help from good friends and family I sailed through them and here I am ten years on, right where I want to be!

What would you advise our new master’s students?

Set your priorities straight and work towards them. Ignore the distractions, because if you don’t, you will have hundred reasons to deviate from your goals.