Work experience

Hi I’m a student currently in year 11, wishing to study physics, maths, computer science and further maths.
I need help finding work experience /summer schools related to these subjects.

Past experiences:
- Kings college girls maths and physics
- in2stem

That’s about it 😓
I’m based in London so anywhere in London would be fine! Idm outside as long as it’s not very far

Reply 1

Raifa21

11

Hey! Year 13 student taking the exact same subjects here :smile:

I know this might not be the answer you're looking for, but I just got an offer from Cambridge for ComSci, and I did not do any work experience.
Work experience is very important, but ComSci is probably the subject where doing a self project might be better than doing work experience, especially if you have a area you are interested in. (MIGHT BE... dont take my word for it)
I'm sure there's good ones out there where they would let you do actual interesting stuff, but from what I've heard, most times they just make you do not ComSci stuff, and it's not really helpful. but a self project you'll be able to learn everything you need, its also easy to show if you use GitHub (you definitely should!)
You've got loads of resources on the internet, so try looking at a few. Online Courses are really good as well!
good luck :smile:

Reply 2

milktea234kn

OP

8

Original post by Raifa21

Hey! Year 13 student taking the exact same subjects here :smile:

I know this might not be the answer you're looking for, but I just got an offer from Cambridge for ComSci, and I did not do any work experience.
Work experience is very important, but ComSci is probably the subject where doing a self project might be better than doing work experience, especially if you have a area you are interested in. (MIGHT BE... dont take my word for it)
I'm sure there's good ones out there where they would let you do actual interesting stuff, but from what I've heard, most times they just make you do not ComSci stuff, and it's not really helpful. but a self project you'll be able to learn everything you need, its also easy to show if you use GitHub (you definitely should!)
You've got loads of resources on the internet, so try looking at a few. Online Courses are really good as well!
good luck :smile:

Thank you!! I did a few project before in school ( a meta completion for coding but it was on scratch. It was in year 8 and we were the only school in the uk to participate) but I will do actual projects like you said! Thank you

Reply 3

nwar

13

Original post by milktea234kn

Hi I’m a student currently in year 11, wishing to study physics, maths, computer science and further maths.
I need help finding work experience /summer schools related to these subjects.
Past experiences:
- Kings college girls maths and physics
- in2stem
That’s about it 😓
I’m based in London so anywhere in London would be fine! Idm outside as long as it’s not very far

If you’re from a state-school, then Cambridge run a programme called Stem Smart for Y12s and 13s. Oxford did one (which was super super brilliant and exponentially harder than Stem Smart) called COMPOS - I did it for Y12 but did not continue with it into Y13 so I don’t know if that’s still a thing. Sign up opens in early Y12.

If there is a Leonardo near where you are, they do excellent work experience programmes in the summer for Y11 and Y12. It’s defence engineering but the placement I did was predominantly coding/robotics.

Edit - don’t feel compelled to gain work experience though! It’s absolutely not necessary for most uni courses (except medicine, etc.)

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

milktea234kn

OP

8

Original post by nwar

If you’re from a state-school, then Cambridge run a programme called Stem Smart for Y12s and 13s. Oxford did one (which was super super brilliant and exponentially harder than Stem Smart) called COMPOS - I did it for Y12 but did not continue with it into Y13 so I don’t know if that’s still a thing. Sign up opens in early Y12.
If there is a Leonardo near where you are, they do excellent work experience programmes in the summer for Y11 and Y12. It’s defence engineering but the placement I did was predominantly coding/robotics.

Is their a link for the Leonardo?

Reply 5

nwar

13

Original post by milktea234kn

Is their a link for the Leonardo?

https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/early-careers/placements/work-experience

Reply 6

milktea234kn

OP

8

Original post by nwar

https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/early-careers/placements/work-experience

Thank you!

Reply 7

igrowth16

1

Original post by Raifa21

Hey! Year 13 student taking the exact same subjects here :smile:

I know this might not be the answer you're looking for, but I just got an offer from Cambridge for ComSci, and I did not do any work experience.
Work experience is very important, but ComSci is probably the subject where doing a self project might be better than doing work experience, especially if you have a area you are interested in. (MIGHT BE... dont take my word for it)
I'm sure there's good ones out there where they would let you do actual interesting stuff, but from what I've heard, most times they just make you do not ComSci stuff, and it's not really helpful. but a self project you'll be able to learn everything you need, its also easy to show if you use GitHub (you definitely should!)
You've got loads of resources on the internet, so try looking at a few. Online Courses are really good as well!
good luck :smile:

Congrats!

I am aiming for the same!

Did taking Comp Sci in A levels help in your uni application? My school does not offer Comp Sci, so I will be doing Physics, Chemistry and Double Maths. Will that affect my chances?

How was the interview? Was it only Maths focused, or did they ask about other subjects like Physics, Comp Sci also?

Reply 8

Raifa21

11

Original post by igrowth16

Congrats!
I am aiming for the same!
Did taking Comp Sci in A levels help in your uni application? My school does not offer Comp Sci, so I will be doing Physics, Chemistry and Double Maths. Will that affect my chances?
How was the interview? Was it only Maths focused, or did they ask about other subjects like Physics, Comp Sci also?

Thanks! I think taking it in A levels helps, but more in the sense that it will be easier for me to start the course at uni. It'll definitely be more difficult for you starting the course, but for applications it should not stop you from being considered given that your school does not offer it. Make sure to show that you are willing to give time and dedication to do computer science though, by doing self projects, individual study, etc.
For the interview, I'm sadly not allowed to tell you any details regarding it. However, there's great resources online, so I'd suggest having a look at those.
Good luck!

Reply 9

igrowth16

1

Original post by Raifa21

Thanks! I think taking it in A levels helps, but more in the sense that it will be easier for me to start the course at uni. It'll definitely be more difficult for you starting the course, but for applications it should not stop you from being considered given that your school does not offer it. Make sure to show that you are willing to give time and dedication to do computer science though, by doing self projects, individual study, etc.
For the interview, I'm sadly not allowed to tell you any details regarding it. However, there's great resources online, so I'd suggest having a look at those.
Good luck!

Thanks for your valuable inputs.

Can you please point me to any specific valuable resources online? (There is so much stuff online that it is difficult to identify the good ones)

Would it also be useful to get some Work Experience in Computing? If yes, how do I go about looking for that please?

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Reply 10

Raifa21

11

Original post by igrowth16

Thanks for your valuable inputs.
Can you please point me to any specific valuable resources online? (There is so much stuff online that it is difficult to identify the good ones)
Would it also be useful to get some Work Experience in Computing? If yes, how do I go about looking for that please?
Thanks in advance for your guidance.

It… really depends
But, regardless of if you want to do AI, cybersecurity, or anything else, learn the theoretical concepts behind it and treat yourself as a university student for that specific area.
Coursera or any equivalent online course is good, but honestly the only “bad” resources come when you treat yourself as a beginner and search for beginner courses
Work experience, it depends, I didn’t take one so I can’t really tell you
But it’s okay if you can’t find one, you can always do a self project in ComSci. Maybe make a full application with Tauri, or something at industry level standards
Ask AI for support on everything, it really helps you in taking that first step in unfamiliar subjects
Good luck :smile:

Reply 11

McGinger

20

Relevant Moocs on FutureLearn or Coursera are highly recommended - free, and a useful thing to do over the summer holidays.

For AI - BBC podcasts - BBC Sounds - The Artificial Human - Available Episodes
A range of science topics - BBC Sounds - BBC Inside Science - Available Episodes
Maths related podcasts - BBC Radio 4 Extra - A Brief History of Mathematics - Available now and BBC Radio 4 - Simon Singh's Numbers - Available now

Reply 12

jasmineva3128

12

Original post by milktea234kn

Hi I’m a student currently in year 11, wishing to study physics, maths, computer science and further maths.
I need help finding work experience /summer schools related to these subjects.
Past experiences:
- Kings college girls maths and physics
- in2stem
That’s about it 😓
I’m based in London so anywhere in London would be fine! Idm outside as long as it’s not very far

You could offer to design/maintain local businesses or charities websites for them, either for free or to make a little bit of money.

I'd check out Gohar Khan's YouTube channel, as he gives good advice about comp sci extra/supercurriculars and work experience.

This video of his may be useful to you: https://youtu.be/eF9j6_Un5KU?si=UDSaKDX9kCBGgT73

You could also start a YouTube channel. It could be about your chosen subjects, or even just about you and your life.

I'd find maths competitions, awards, and olympiads that you can enter, as that would look good.

There's also the Young Science Writer of the Year Award, so if you're still 14-16 early next year then I'd try that. You can write about anything to do with science/stem, including maths and physics. I won this award in 2024 for my essay on insulin pumps and their use in type 1 diabetes management, and it's opened up a lot of doors for me, and it looks very good.

This is the link to the award: https://www.absw.org.uk/pages/yswa-2024-apply

You could write about science in your school newspaper, and even reach out to small/local newspapers and ask for work experience, specifying your interest in science (or even finance).

You could also create a blog, which would combine comp sci with whatever you wanted. You could write about yourself and your life, or one of your interests.

You could also do an epq and link it to one of maths, physics, or comp sci.

Finally, entering some other essay competitions to do with stem, finance, and comp sci would be great supercurriculars.

Hope this helps, and if you've got any questions feel free to ask me. 😊

(edited 2 days ago)

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