Work Experience
Does anyone know how to get any work experience? (Manchester)
I'm a Y12 student and want to get some more extracurriculars and super-curriculars for my uni applications. I don't participate in any sports or have a job at the moment so I want to seem like I do enough outside of my studies. (My teachers always tell us horror stories about smart students who were rejected from their dream universities because they didn't do anything/much out of school - and I fear that's me.) Or are there any more things you'd recommend I take up or participate in?
I volunteered in Y10 as part of my DofE, and I've participated in a few maths related challenges, such as Ritangle and an internal one. I did work experience in Y10, although it is very unrelated to my future career path. I am doing a virtual work experience programme for aerospace engineering, through Springpod.
All other work experience placements and summer schools seem to be for disadvantaged kids, which I don't meet any of the criteria for so can't participate in. Are there any for women in STEM?
I'm a Y12 student and want to get some more extracurriculars and super-curriculars for my uni applications. I don't participate in any sports or have a job at the moment so I want to seem like I do enough outside of my studies. (My teachers always tell us horror stories about smart students who were rejected from their dream universities because they didn't do anything/much out of school - and I fear that's me.) Or are there any more things you'd recommend I take up or participate in?
I volunteered in Y10 as part of my DofE, and I've participated in a few maths related challenges, such as Ritangle and an internal one. I did work experience in Y10, although it is very unrelated to my future career path. I am doing a virtual work experience programme for aerospace engineering, through Springpod.
All other work experience placements and summer schools seem to be for disadvantaged kids, which I don't meet any of the criteria for so can't participate in. Are there any for women in STEM?
Reply 1
cold emailing local companies can always be useful, you might not find something that has the most direct link but its applying what you've learnt to the subject. work experience isn't everything though, read a book, do an online course its all to show you care about the subject beyond your class lessons
Reply 2
Original post
by orlaughableDoes anyone know how to get any work experience? (Manchester)
I'm a Y12 student and want to get some more extracurriculars and super-curriculars for my uni applications. I don't participate in any sports or have a job at the moment so I want to seem like I do enough outside of my studies. (My teachers always tell us horror stories about smart students who were rejected from their dream universities because they didn't do anything/much out of school - and I fear that's me.) Or are there any more things you'd recommend I take up or participate in?
I volunteered in Y10 as part of my DofE, and I've participated in a few maths related challenges, such as Ritangle and an internal one. I did work experience in Y10, although it is very unrelated to my future career path. I am doing a virtual work experience programme for aerospace engineering, through Springpod.
All other work experience placements and summer schools seem to be for disadvantaged kids, which I don't meet any of the criteria for so can't participate in. Are there any for women in STEM?
I'm a Y12 student and want to get some more extracurriculars and super-curriculars for my uni applications. I don't participate in any sports or have a job at the moment so I want to seem like I do enough outside of my studies. (My teachers always tell us horror stories about smart students who were rejected from their dream universities because they didn't do anything/much out of school - and I fear that's me.) Or are there any more things you'd recommend I take up or participate in?
I volunteered in Y10 as part of my DofE, and I've participated in a few maths related challenges, such as Ritangle and an internal one. I did work experience in Y10, although it is very unrelated to my future career path. I am doing a virtual work experience programme for aerospace engineering, through Springpod.
All other work experience placements and summer schools seem to be for disadvantaged kids, which I don't meet any of the criteria for so can't participate in. Are there any for women in STEM?
To be honest I don’t know much about aerospace engineering! But if I were you I would definitely ask my parents if they have any friends or even friends of friends who work in anything STEM or engineering related. If not then perhaps ask your friends if their family do or know anyone that does. Connections and networks are invaluable! It doesn’t have to be explicitly aerospace as often what they look for in Personal Statements is how you APPLY what you’ve learnt or found to your subject of choice. So even just a little crossover is good.
If you can’t find anyone at all remotely close to this line of work then I would try emailing lots of individuals or companies with the kind of profession your interested in. You could ask to volunteer as their assistant or just shadow them for a week, here half terms and the summer holiday will come in handy. Try lots of people, not all will be interested, that’s okay, but there’s bound to be someone who will say yes! Look for these people on LinkedIn or any local companies you know of in Manchester, emails can often be found somewhere on their website.
Good luck and well done for being proactive! I wouldn’t stress too much as that virtual work experience sounds promising but this will definitely help you stand out amongst competitive courses. If you want to be thorough make the most of year 12 to read books, watch documentaries, do MOOCs, look for Essay/Engineering Competitions (these close at certain times of the year so check dates) and anything else that demonstrate an active interest in your course. I hope this helped, all the best!
Reply 3
20
My teachers always tell us horror stories about smart students who were rejected from their dream universities because they didn't do anything/much out of school
This is essentially just teacher-nonsense. It is not actually true, You do not need 'work experience' for a degree like Engineering, nor do you need a wild bunch of hobbies etc. Work experience is essential for vocational courses like Medicine and other healthcare courses, teaching etc such to show that you have an idea of what the job role involves. A degree in Engineering does not have this focus - its an academic degree, not a trade apprenticeship. And no UK Uni is going to reject you simply because you do not have any obvious hobbies - if you are desperate to show that you do something/anything, then volunteer in a charity shop for a few months.
For Engineering, all that Unis will want to see is that you are interested in this subject beyond the A level syllabus, that you have a real interest and a sense of inquisitiveness. You can do this with extra reading, free Moocs etc. Here are some examples - remember that you can borrow these books via your local public library (just ask the librarians for their help) or 2nd-hand on Ebay etc :
Recommended Reading for Budding Engineers | Engineering Applicant Information
An introduction to design engineering | OpenLearn - Open University
Microgravity: living on the International Space Station: Week 1 Microgravity and the International Space Station: Introduction | OpenLearn - Open University
Royal Holloway, University of London Event | Girls Do Engineering
££ Summer School - Aerospace Engineering Liverpool University
This is essentially just teacher-nonsense. It is not actually true, You do not need 'work experience' for a degree like Engineering, nor do you need a wild bunch of hobbies etc. Work experience is essential for vocational courses like Medicine and other healthcare courses, teaching etc such to show that you have an idea of what the job role involves. A degree in Engineering does not have this focus - its an academic degree, not a trade apprenticeship. And no UK Uni is going to reject you simply because you do not have any obvious hobbies - if you are desperate to show that you do something/anything, then volunteer in a charity shop for a few months.
For Engineering, all that Unis will want to see is that you are interested in this subject beyond the A level syllabus, that you have a real interest and a sense of inquisitiveness. You can do this with extra reading, free Moocs etc. Here are some examples - remember that you can borrow these books via your local public library (just ask the librarians for their help) or 2nd-hand on Ebay etc :
Recommended Reading for Budding Engineers | Engineering Applicant Information
An introduction to design engineering | OpenLearn - Open University
Microgravity: living on the International Space Station: Week 1 Microgravity and the International Space Station: Introduction | OpenLearn - Open University
Royal Holloway, University of London Event | Girls Do Engineering
££ Summer School - Aerospace Engineering Liverpool University
(edited 1 month ago)
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