Work experience year 12

My school has a mandatory 2 week in person work experience placement in the summer term for year 12. I would like to study biological sciences (or similar) at university but there doesn't seem to be many opportunities for work experience. Does anybody have any suggestions of what to do?

Reply 1

slevam

Original post

by Am245

hey this is one week but i think this is a really good opportunity, you can apply if this interests you.

https://careers.astrazeneca.com/job/cambridge/year-12-work-experience-molecules-to-medicine-in-cambridge/7684/76802399904

sometimes universities offer work experience placements too, do give a look around. astrazeneca offers a lot of these opportunities for students, im sure there are others too !!

good luck and i hope this helps !

Reply 2

Avan2552

Original post

by slevam

hey this is one week but i think this is a really good opportunity, you can apply if this interests you.
https://careers.astrazeneca.com/job/cambridge/year-12-work-experience-molecules-to-medicine-in-cambridge/7684/76802399904
sometimes universities offer work experience placements too, do give a look around. astrazeneca offers a lot of these opportunities for students, im sure there are others too !!
good luck and i hope this helps !

Thanks so much for your help, unfortunately the application closed yesterday, and my school wouldn't allow me to travel to Cambridge for work experience (work experience has to be within a certain distance from school). If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know because the deadline is in April and I currently have nothing

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

OxfordBrookesDan

Official Rep

Original post

by Am245

Hi Am245,

I completely understand your concern! I studied MBiol Biological Sciences at Oxford Brookes and am now a PhD student here. From my experience, relevant work experience before starting a Biological Sciences degree at Brookes is not necessary, and finding it can be difficult. I also had to complete two weeks of work experience during Sixth Form, and despite trying to find something in science, I ended up at a construction company—which had nothing to do with biology! However, it still helped me realise that studying Biological Sciences was the right choice for me.

At Oxford Brookes, the Biological Sciences courses cover a broad range of topics, from genetics and ecology to microbiology and molecular biology. One of the great aspects of the degree is the work experience module, which gives students the chance to gain hands-on experience in a relevant field during their studies. This is more accessible than trying to get work experience before university, as Oxford Brookes has strong connections with nearby companies, including start-ups on campus. Additionally, once you start university, you’ll be a more appealing candidate for work experience since you'll have lab safety training and knowledge of basic techniques. So, if you don’t find biology-related work experience now, that’s completely normal - you’ll have plenty of opportunities later! There are several Biology-related courses at Oxford Brookes, please let me know if you would like more information on them!

That being said, if you’re interested in gaining some experience before university, you could try the following:

•

Online courses: Platforms like FutureLearn, Coursera, and OpenLearn offer free courses on genetics, ecology, and microbiology. I did a few courses on FutureLearn before starting my degree, and they helped me feel more prepared. I also recommend Codecademy and similar resources for learning coding—having a basic familiarity with Python and/or R Studio can make studying Biological Sciences easier. While AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can generate code, it’s useful to understand how to use these types of programmes before you need them. R Studio is particularly handy for creating graphs and can be easier than Microsoft Excel for making figures and tables for assignments.

•

Citizen Science Projects: Websites like Zooniverse allow you to take part in real scientific research. Two Zooniverse projects, Seabird Watch and Penguin Watch, are collaborations between Dr Tom Hart at Oxford Brookes, Oxford University, and the University of Cork.

•

Virtual Labs: Websites like HHMI BioInteractive and LabXchange offer interactive biology experiments.

It may be helpful to indicate where you are local to in a post, as others may be able to provide work experience options that are near to you. For places near Oxford, you could try contacting the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, CABI Wallingford, and the Science Oxford Centre, who have a STEM Work Experience Programme.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your studies! 😊

Reply 4

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

Original post

by Am245

Hi there!

I have a degree in Biological Sciences (specializing in Medical Biology) and was asked to also find work experience when I was in year 12. I did my work experience in a local pharmacy. Remember, you can gain transferable skills from your work experience, which is equally just as valuable as technical skills. Transferable skills are skills that can be applied across different industries (team work, time management, leadership etc) and technical skills are industry specific (so microscopy for example). While working in a pharmacy I gained time management skills and also learned about medicines and their uses, safety and potential toxicity. An online work experience I did was the brighton and sussex medical school virtual work experience, however your school may advise against this if they want you to to do in-person work experience only. However, it is an excellent thing to add to your CV. Finally, maybe ask your school if you can shadow a lab technician?

Hope this helps and good luck!

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston uni rep)

Reply 5

Avan2552

Thanks for your help

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