Hi, I am Josh, I studied History at the University of Southampton before working in advertising for Rakuten for about a year. I am part of the 2024 cohort of Engineering graduates at British Airways. I applied for a role at BA as it was a company that intrigued me, and I wanted to work in an industry where you could see the tangible impact of the work that you do.
My role at British Airways is a Planning and Supply Chain graduate in Engineering.
At the moment, I am halfway through a 6-month placement in Operations. This team is the bridge between Engineering and the operation, so it is a busy team that focuses more on the day-to-day flying. Within this role I have been given a project-based role, so I am currently balancing 4 projects, and my daily tasks are to do with furthering these so that I am able to finish them before I go to my next placement. I spend a lot of time conversing with different departments and gaining valuable knowledge from them in the process. One of my projects is surrounding sustainability in engineering. I work closely with the corporate side of the business to help the airline become more sustainable and work towards our Million Tonne Mission by 2030. This further gives me a view of many different aspects of BA.
The best things about my current role are the freedom and trust that they give you to go out and deliver a project that will have a tangible impact on the business. There is also support if needed but it is encouraging to be given projects that add value to the department. In addition to this, being around the operation is very exciting as you get to see the intricacies of how the airline is run on a daily business. This includes how any potential issues such as cancellations, delays or AOG aircraft are dealt with. There is such a varied range of work that no two days are ever the same.
The graduate community is fantastic, within engineering we have around 15 graduates at the moment. We all get on well and have lunch together every day! It is very comforting when you join the business to have 14 other people in the same position as yourself, it really helps with any anxieties or worries you might have. As a graduate cohort, we work together lots as well. We take part in a leadership course together across the span of our scheme and we have also been tasked with a charity challenge, to raise as much money as possible for the BA charity Flying Start. One example of this is that I am helping to run a 5-a-side football tournament for BA colleagues, with all the proceeds going to charity. This is a great way to work together, organise events and foster a great team spirit all whilst making a difference to a great cause. Outside of engineering, there is a wider graduate community that often runs socials and events that are interesting and great to get involved in.
In my previous placement, I worked on a project for Red Nose Day. I was given the task of getting a Red Nose painted on an Aircraft for Red Nose Day. This was a really exciting project to be involved with as I was in-charge of organising the engineering side of the project and getting all of the planning and documentation in order. It involved a lot of collaborating with other teams in and outside of engineering and as I was new to the company, I made mistakes along the way, though the teams I spoke to were happy to point me in the right direction and steer me back on course. Once it was completed, being able to see an Aircraft flying around with a Red Nose, knowing that I helped it possible filled me with a great sense of satisfaction and pride.
The most important thing I have learned since starting at British Airways is to say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. During your time as a graduate, you must make the most of being able to learn on the job. You will be offered a range of different experiences around the business, even if these are not particularly appealing to you it is important to get the best knowledge possible of the entire company. Going hand in hand with this is asking questions as well, if there is something you would like to try, ask if you can do it. You will find that people love it when you show interest and are more than happy to help you out.
My role into British Airways was a little different to most people that work in engineering. I studied History at the University of Southampton and once I graduated, worked in advertising for about a year. Despite the fact I had not aviation or engineering background, I have loved my time at BA so far. It has thrown up some challenges, so far as getting used to how engineering works and the more technical aspects of the job. However, my degree and previous work have given me other strengths that have allowed me to thrive in the role. It has allowed me to bring a different way of thinking and working to the scheme and BA encourages diversity of thought. This is why they hire people from all different backgrounds.
My main piece of advice would be to not let your degree count you out of an opportunity before you have given it a go. I am testament to that fact that you do not have to move into a field which is directly related to your degree. People underestimate the transferable skills that you get from any degree, especially one in humanities. The world of Planning and Supply Chain, for example, lends itself very well to this. If you consider the analytical, project management and communication skills that you can get from a degree such as History, they are all extremely relevant. You just must find out what it is that sets you apart and don’t count yourself out before you have given it a go!
