Seán Devers - Graduate Manufacturing Engineer at Boston Scientific

Seán Devers (Graduate Manufacturing Engineer)

Brief Introduction:
My name is Seán Devers and I am a recent graduate from NUIG with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. I am currently working as a Manufacturing Engineer I, as part of the Boston Scientific Graduate Programme.

Can you tell us about Boston Scientific’s Graduate programme and your experience with this programme?
Boston offers both a Manufacturing Engineering and a Quality Engineering graduate programme. The programme aims to encourage both personal professional developments. This is a fantastic platform to broaden your skills, make some great friends and kick-start your career.
My own background from studying Biomedical Engineering in NUIG led for me to apply to the manufacturing graduate programme, and thankfully I was accepted. Having previously completed my college co-op placement with Boston Scientific, I knew that I wanted to start my career in a diverse, inclusive, and multi-national company like Boston Scientific. The Graduate programme also offers fast progression due to its “talent development” mindset, which is encouraging for young adults these days, especially in such a competitive job market. I have learnt so much from the programme, the application, assessments and experience is very engaging and straightforward.

Can you tell us about your day to day role as a Graduate Manufacturing Engineer?
During my first year of the grad programme, I worked in Project Management Operations (PMO) in the Stent Delivery Catheter (SDC) production unit, implementing new and interesting products to increase our production to meet future capacity demands. This created an opportunity to develop my analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as using various methods of communication for stakeholder management. We work across a range of teams in different areas to enhance and promote our problem-solving environment, which provides interesting and meaningful challenges.
All our activities link back to the core values of Boston Scientific – Caring, Meaningful Innovation, High Performance, Global Collaboration, Diversity, and Winning Spirit. Our meetings are held on Microsoft Teams, which provides a virtual platform for us all to stay in touch, which included weekly quizzes, coffee mornings and much more to help us all stay connected. Teamwork is a huge part of this role and it lovely to be part of a large, supportive team in Boston Scientific.

Going from ‘student’ to ‘employee’ can be a big transition. What challenges did you face?
One thing I found difficult when I started was the massive change from how we take lunch in Boston Scientific. Originally, we could all sit together for lunch, where we had plenty laughs and chats but with COVID-19, it is different. As a social person this was a major challenge but, with the constant interaction with my team, this has improved both my personal and professional confidence .
Another thing was the movement from college to the work environment. You move from an area where everyone has the same level of experienced to being the least experienced person in the room. This can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning, but it’s also good to remember, everyone started somewhere and that you were hired for a reason! The main thing to is to ask this question – If I don’t know, what can I learn to help me understand what is happening? The people around you always help you, and in Boston Scientific, our workplace culture is full of support. We have people with all different levels of experience who are more than willing to share their knowledge to help achieve our core values!

What is your favourite part of your job?
My favourite part of the job is getting to overcome challenges that I couldn’t before. Everyday presents a new challenge or problem which must be solved, and being a social person, working as a team to solve these problems suits my personality. The challenge of work keeps it interesting, and the new things to work on everyday means it never gets boring.
My favourite extra-curricular part of my job is the work I do with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), as a co-lead of the PRIDE (Promoting Respect, inclusion, diversity, Equality) ERG. I get to pave the way forward for a new Boston Scientific, to make it even more diverse than it already is, and I also have made many new friends along the way. I would highly suggest that all graduates should join one of our nine ERGs on-site. It is such a brilliant way to make new friends, build your skills and get stuck into the work we do in the community. Recently, we set up a COVID-19 Community Response Team which raised over €50K for 7 local charity and community organisations. These were all virtual events, like our charity bingo night, Movember and global multi-site step challenge, to name a few!

What advice would you give to students looking to get into the medical device industry?
If there was one firm lesson to learn when it comes to applying/getting jobs in the medical device company, it’s that the only limits you have are the ones you set for yourself! Be ready to take on challenges, have confidence in your own skillsets and talk about all the transferrable skills we have learnt through college during an interview. NUIG has a great presence in employability development, utilise it and enjoy learning.
My advice to students looking to get into the medical device industry is to be confident in your skills and abilities, but always be ready to learn, the more skills and abilities you develop, the more you really start to come into your own as an engineer. A lot of the skills you learn inside work can be applied to life outside of work too! I.E. Time management, good communication.
Also, it’s important to recognise just how lucky you are to be in a medical device hub like Ireland. Boston Scientific alone has three plants in Ireland – Galway, Clonmel and Cork, as well as many more globally. Our products impact 40 million people, which could be your mother, sister, grandparents, and friends. We live by Improving the life of patient care and all things Boston Scientific.
Finally, ASK QUESTIONS, even in an interview if you ask a question it shows a genuine interest in the job, and in work it shows a genuine wish to improve your skills.