Mechanical engineering Bsc, where can i find an appropriate placement? aircraft/vehicle/vessel design?

Question

i am currently seeking placement for my sandwich year at university. interested in aircraft/vehicle/vessel design. before starting university i became a fully qualified vehicle mechanic. After 4 years in the trade, i decided to approach the design aspect. now after nearly two years of education, i am trying to find a suitable placement for sept07-08.

Answer 1

Are you in the UK or US?

If you're in the UK you may want to contact the IET or the IMechE (Mechy prob better if you are into mechanical engineering). For aircraft specific you could also try Raes.

All of them have great career advisory and IPD info on thier websites and are the best for your area.

Answer 2

Carefully choose your employer and get researching possible companies with the help of Google, by finding out which company manufactures each and which consultancies get involved in the design process. You need to apply to these.
This sandwich placement could shape your career - especially if the employer offers you a position on their graduate programme once you finish uni. For this reason I would recommend looking up which companies have the best graduate training programmes and applying to them (their training will probably be better too). Try to go with a large well-known employer, this will help considerably when you come to look for full time employment following uni.
If money is an important factor look which industry will earn you the most and if you can easily jump between the different types of design.