AMA - My University of Leicester BSc Software Engineering journey into a placement

Hey everyone! I wanted to share my path into securing a placement year with the NHS as a Digital Content Creator (UX & Media Designer) especially for those who feel unsure if their background "fits" or are considering industry placements.

Prior to university, I didn't take traditional STEM subjects. I did A-Levels in Media Studies, Photography, and Graphic Communication. Heading into the UCAS period, I realized I wanted to collaborate design with technology and decided to apply to a mix of computing courses such as software engineering and game design from a variety of 'mid' universities which were fine with my non-stem a-levels. I settled for UoL as my best choice due to getting a reduced contextual offer from ABB -> BBC which I knew I could achieve, which kind of made me lax for the rest of my a-levels haha.

On results day in 2023, I achieved BBC, which wasn't the best but I got in and that was all that mattered to me! I was very disciplined and adjusted to the independent learning which allowed me to pick up content quick, I had experience in GCSE Computer Science but majority of my knowledge had faded away, but I loved delving into the content throughout first year. I achieved 68.6% and was able to do an internship as a Graphic and Web Designer as well as a summer school in Tokyo, Japan! I developed a LinkedIn and a solid CV because although I was at university for the experience and study, I did want to get employed after I get my degree.

Moving into my second year, I really stepped up my game and achieved 79% and built my portfolio in a variety of ways including: Hackathons, CTFs, Creative Personal Projects, University Employment (Careers and Employability Service), Teaching Internship as a Computing Teacher and another summer school in Shanghai, China. What I did was literally apply to anything that seemed interesting. We pay so much for university in terms of tuition fees so I really wanted to take advantage of every opportunity which leads into how I found my placement.

I ended up cold emailing and reaching out to a variety of people through networking and careers events to try and secure a year in industry role. I was quite open to anything that would allow me to develop skills but I still wanted to focus on synergizing creativity with computing. I cold emailed a bunch of emails (some may have been customer service emails) and surprisingly one, which was the NHS LPT, saw my email, my cv and my linkedin and really liked my technical growth through uni, my design eye and communication skills from creative a-levels and my initiative from side projects.

Fast forward a few months later, I’m doing a hybrid role that merges UX design, content creation, health communication, and digital engagement.

I am only on month 1 of my placement but it is going so well and I enjoy it so much.

If you're unsure about fitting into STEM from a non-traditional route, or you’re debating whether to do a placement year, feel free to ask anything. Happy to help!