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Going on a placement (now closed)

Student Money Week 2017

A fourth-year student answers your questions about doing a placement as part of your degree, particularly budgeting during a placement year.

Advisor for this Q&A

Claire, Fourth Year Student

Claire is a fourth year Chemistry student at the University of Bath. She spent her placement year in the analytical chemistry department of a pharmaceutical company.

Reply 1

colourful lamb

Hi Claire.

I am interested in the idea of going on placement. I'd just like to hear a little about what the experience was like including the most enjoyable things and also aspects you found more difficult? How do you think doing a placement year has helped your studies?

Thanks!

Reply 2

colourful lamb

Hi Claire.

Also what is the situation with regards to funding whilst on a placement?

Thanking you kindly :smile:

Ben

Reply 3

iloverockandroll

How easy is it to find a placement? How much support did you have and did you find other people that wanted a placement struggled?

I know someone that got on a placement but he said his course mates struggled and found it time consuming to apply. How did you find it?

Reply 4

Claire Student

Original post by benthelamb

Hi benthelamb,

I was on placement for a year at a pharmaceutical company, and I really enjoyed it, personally I would recommend doing a placement to anyone if you have the oppurtunity.

It is really different from a year studying at university, but I enjoyed the change of pace and the chance to experience something different. I found all the staff on my placement to be really helpful and to help me settle in. As my placement was a practical one based in a chemistry lab I was a bit worried at first that my lab skills would not be up to scratch, but I was introduced to everything slowly and trained up on all techniques before being sent off to the lab by myself.

I enjoyed learning all the new chemistry and the practical skills as well as getting a chance to improve other skills that are desirable to employers such as time management, presentation skills and working with different teams. I also liked that I got to meet a wide variety of people, from the other students at different universities who where also on placement at the company, to my colleagues and also visiting members of staff from America.

At first the most difficult thing for me was actually working full time, having only worked part time before working 9-5 everyday was really tiring! But you soon get used to it and it's easy to settle into a routine. Finding housing was a bit trickier than as a student as the company was not based in a studenty area, so houses were harder to come by. However the company and previous students did offer us advice and we were able to find something after some searching.

Hope this helps and if there is anything else you want to know please ask

Thanks

Claire

Reply 5

University of Bath

Official Rep

At Bath nearly two thirds of our students undertake a work placement as part of their degree programme.

Please do ask any questions you have regarding placements, and Claire will do her best to answer them.

You can find more information about placements at Bath at the following locations:

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for Engineering and Design programmes click here

•

for Humanities and Social Sciences programmes click here

•

for Management programmes click here

•

for Science programmes click here

Reply 6

colourful lamb

Just a couple more quick questions Claire :smile:

What is expected (in your experience) from the Employer? Also what kind of support is offered by your University/Department?

Thanks for the information, that is really helpful.

Reply 7

Sazzy890

If you could go back and do anything differently, what would that be? Do you have any advice or things to look out for applying for a placement.
Also, with a placement was there any indication that they might want you back full time after the course? Did anyone lese you know who did the same get a job offer?

Reply 8

Sue Garrett

Original post by benthelamb

Hi Claire.

Also what is the situation with regards to funding whilst on a placement?

Thanking you kindly :smile:

Ben

Hi Ben

As a very general rule for a full year placement, your fees will be lower (15-20% of full fee for UK and EU students) but the fee loan is still available to cover this. In terms of maintenance support, typically this will also be reduced during a placement period whether that is a paid or unpaid work placement. On a Study abroad placement, generally your maintenance will be unaffected. There could be more maintenance loan available to you when studying abroad.
University of Bath covers this here http://www.bath.ac.uk/students/finance/student-funding/placement-year-funding/index.html but you should also check the university guidance for the university that you are considering.

Sue
University of Bath, Admissions and Funding Adviser

Reply 9

Claire Student

Original post by iloverockandroll

Hi iloverockandroll,

How easy it is to find a placement depends on your course and how competitive they are. I do chemistry and as more and more universities are offering industrial placements as part of their courses there can be lots of competition. Thankfully Bath university has a good reputation for placements so I had that to my advantage, but I did get rejected from around six different places before I got mine. So it's important to not give up and apply to as many that interest you.

Applications can take a while, especially the first few. But as you do more you get quicker at it and if applying to similar placements you can re use a lot of answers on application forms. It is worth taking the time to apply as doing a placement is a really good opportunity.

The support availiable will vary by university and department, but my department were very supportive. They posted lots of adverts for placements online and then it was our responsibility to apply. However they would check over CVs and application forms, give practice interviews and as many members of staff have worked in industry or have industrial links they were able to offer useful insight and advice. Some departments may actually secure the placement for you, it just depends what type of course you will be doing.

If your particular department does not offer much support, most universities have really good career services, which most people think are just for jobs after graduation but they can also help with getting placements or summer internships, which are an option worth considering if you are not successful in getting a year long placement.

Hope this helps, any other questions please let me know.

Thanks

Claire

Reply 10

Steven Lawrence

To find out more about what our students get up to during a placement you can read our Humanities and Social Sciences Placement Blog, which has posts from students on placement or taking advantage of the opportunity to study abroad:

http://blogs.bath.ac.uk/hss-placements/

Do let us know if you have any questions!

Steve
University of Bath Admissions

Reply 11

Claire Student

Original post by benthelamb

Just a couple more quick questions Claire :smile:

What is expected (in your experience) from the Employer? Also what kind of support is offered by your University/Department?

Thanks for the information, that is really helpful.

Hi Ben,

I think expectations will vary depending on your employer, but for me personally, the main focus was just for it to be a learning experience.

No one ever got mad at me for making mistakes - and I made a lot - as making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn, and everyone always had time to answer my questions. I was responsible for processes that were important to the company, but everything was always explained well to me and I was given proper training. It was all introduced to me slowly so it wasn't all just thrust on me at once. I also had a supervisor and a manager who I could talk to if I was finding anything difficult or the work was too much.

So they do expect you to be a pro-active and useful member of the team, they don't expect you to just sit there doing nothing as you are "just the student" but at the same time they know that you are there to learn and probably won't ever give you a task that could make or break the company.

I had lots of support from my department and university, I had a visit from my personal tutor about half way through my placement to see if I had any issues, and we also had a placement tutor who we could regularly contact via email, phone or skype if we wanted to. We also had a placement conference about 3/4 of the way through, which involved us doing a short presentation about our placement and a chance to discuss any issues as a group. So I never felt like I was out there all on my own, there was lots of help if I wanted it.

Thanks :smile:

Claire

Reply 12

Steven Lawrence

Bath maintains excellent links with industry in order to provide the best placement opportunities to its students.

Our placements are an opportunity to apply what you learn during your degree in a working environment, and to provide an advantage in a competitive job market.

You can find details of some of the well-known organisations we have placed Management students with- including L'Oreal, Vodafone, Nestle, the Home Office, and HSBC- by visiting our Management placements page.

Reply 13

Claire Student

Original post by Sazzy890

Hi Sazzy890,

I would say if there was anything I do differently it would try to be more confident from the start. I was quite nervous when I first began and sometimes a bit too timid to speak up, so I might have missed out on some oppurtunities. However the placement year made me a lot of more confident, both in my chemistry abilities and in how I communicate with people, so if I could do it again now with the skills I have learnt, I feel I would be much more confident.The best thing to do on placement is to make the most of every oppurtunity offered to you as you never know what you might learn.

I would say be open minded about what kind of placement you want and try to not discount too many. I was convinced I only wanted a organic synthesis placement at a pharmaceutical company. When I applied for my placement I didn't really know what I was applying for (I should have read the information better) except that it was at a pharma company. It ended up being an analytical placement and I really enjoyed it. I am now considering analytical chemistry as a career after I graduate, which I never would have done before my placement.

The particular company I worked for did not not offer a graduate scheme, and due to a restructure of my department, there weren't really any direct entry positions open for someone who had just graduated. However I loved working with my team, so I would have no problem working with them again if the company was in a position to offer me a entry-level role.

I do however know of people who have been able to secure graduate roles at their placement company, so it really depends on who you worked for. However just doing a placement will give you a real advantage for any job, even if not for the same company. As you learn so many skills and it gives you lots of different examples to talk about.

Hope this helps, any other questions please let me know.

Thanks

Claire

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 14

Claire Student

Thanks for all your questions, hopefully I have been able to help some of you.

If you have any more questions about placement years, or the courses/life at University of Bath then please feel free to ask over at the University of Bath Forum, which is monitored frequently by current students and staff.

Good Luck :smile:

Thanks

Claire

Reply 15

Laura SFE

Official Rep

Thanks for your questions.

You can find out more about student finance, and access a range of helpful tools and guidance on our dedicated student finance zone at www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance