The Student Room Group

How important is relevant work experience?

I think it was one of the reasons why I got into my course (Aeronautical Engineering) since I only had AAABC in my Scottish Highers. I went down to do a 2-day stint of 'shadowing' the Flight Test department and all the engineers down there - not only was it an absolutely fantastic visit, I think the university really saw that I was committed to my interest in aviation and engineering its important aspects. Work experience counts for a lot (I think you have to have some work experience for many courses leading to a professional qualification, as it were) so it's a very good idea to organise a few days shadow placements at some law firms in your area.
Reply 1
Work experience isn't vital for law, and many people get into top unis with other types of work experience. It would show that you took the time and effort to get work experience, but unis know that it's not always possible to get it.
Reply 2
It depends almost entirely on the course, eg Vetmed/ medicine its definately needed, but whatever subject your doing if you can get it , do it, it can't hurt your application and will make you stand out against someone with similar grades.
Reply 3
For Medicine and Vet. Med., it's effectively mandatory. Otherwise, while it helps, it's not.
Reply 4
For Law, work experience is especially good if you're applying to places like Oxbridge as they have something they can pick up on at interview. However, it will only be an advantage and really hinder you if you don't have any.
Reply 5
Depends on your subject. If you're applying for med/vet med and have nothing, chances are you won't receive a place anywhere. However, they won't have expected English students to have worked in a library or bookshop! For others, it's presumably desirable but not essential (e.g. experience with a local paper for application to a journalism course, work with a local political party when applying for a politics course etc).
Reply 6
It's not important for anything except for medicine basically. It might help and would give you something to write about in your PS but it wouldn't make that much of a difference.
Reply 7
For vet med; extremely :p:
Some form of relevent work experience was very important for getting offers to the course I've applied for (Speech and Language Therapy)... in fact, I think it is for a lot of medical based courses. It shows dedication for the subject/field, and shows that you've put a lot of thought into what you want to do.
Reply 9
Well, it also improves your credibility as to why you want to study it at University.

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