Placement Student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement in the department of Human Metabolism at the University of Sheffield. Although it was very difficult at times I still enjoyed this and the challenges were part of the experience. At time it felt a little monotonous and boring doing the same things day in day out, however I understand that this is how most jobs are and therefore this is ok, I wouldn't expect other placements to be particularly different.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues and felt as though I was indispensable in my role. I was part of a good group within the department and felt as though I fitted well into the team. I was valued by other members of the group and my supervisors. This was evidenced when I was asked to work for a longer period of time and have also been asked to return in the future.

I was given a large amount of support and guidance by my supervisors at the beginning, with full training on how to do things and good support to ensure I was getting on ok. I also had good support at 3 monthly review sessions which determined whether I was doing ok and how I was finding the placement. However, on a day to day basis I did lack guidance; my supervisor was often absent from the office for various reasons which meant that I was left to try to fix problems on my own which I did not have training to do so, which was at times very challenging and therefore it would have been helpful if I had been offered more support.

How busy I was on a daily basis was incredibly variable. At the start of my placement, for around 6 weeks, there were times when I did very little as the work was delayed and therefore I had a lot of spare time. However, later on I was incredibly busy at times, to the extent I was expected to come in early and leave later to ensure all work could be completed. I was also very busy at times which meant that I struggled to have a sufficient amount of breaks throughout the day. Overall, the balance wasn't perfect; it would have been ideal if the workload was spread evenly over the whole year, rather than incredibly quiet periods followed by incredibly busy periods.

I was given a huge amount of responsibility. Although I was told by my supervisor what projects to complete and what tests to do, it was down to me on a daily basis to get the work done with little guidance from others. It was my responsibility to ensure that all of the equipment was working correctly, that all quality control measures had passed and that all results being produced were accurate and reliable.

The skills I developed and training received has assisted me in my final year of university. I find myself much more confident, especially in my knowledge, due to the amount of knowledge I gained on my placement. Hopefully the skills and training will also assist me further in my career.

The general atmosphere in my laboratory which I worked in was ok. I was on my own for three months where I didn't speak to or see anyone else on most days, which was quite lonely, dull and a little boring. However for the rest of the year I worked with another student, this definitely improved the atmosphere and made the whole thing a little more fun. However, this was still difficult at times as we had talked to each other so much there was almost nothing left to say!

The work placement was organised very well on the whole; the interview process was well organised and relaxed and starting my placement was well organised. There was times throughout the year when work was delayed due to a lack of organisation from other people, however on the whole the organisation was very good.

I had training for all of the equipment I used, which I received from qualified people from the companies of the equipment. This was very useful and also helped me to gain a lot of contacts within industry, many of whom said there was the potential for job opportunities in the future. My group also offered weekly teaching sessions in which they covered various skills useful for my future career; therefore I feel that they really did invest in me.

Future employment prospects are very appealing; both with the group I worked in and within the company itself. I really enjoyed my placement and would like to pursue a PhD in the future, therefore I am likely to be looking for a job in this field and very possibly with this organisation.

There was a good social scene; there was regular meals, nights out and general gatherings of students and colleagues. There was also a free Christmas meal for the whole group and another Christmas meal for the whole department which was very enjoyable. There was lot of opportunities to get involved and to get to know other placement students and colleagues.

I lived at home during my placement, therefore I did not have a cost of living in Sheffield. However, socialising is reasonably cheap with prices being familiar to what I have seen in other areas near by. Sheffield is definitely very reasonable to live in, with food prices being reasonable and most social activities being very reasonably priced.

Night life is something that is not particularly important to me therefore I'm probably not so qualified to comment on this. However, many of my fellow placement students and colleagues were regularly enjoying the night life and seemed to be very enthusiastic and happy with it, therefore I think the night life in Sheffield is very good.

There was often a variety of things going on, whether this was birthday events (meals, nights out), Christmas meals, etc. There was not many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work that were organised by work itself, however many students and colleagues organised activities. There is also a variety of activities to get involved with in Sheffield, depending what the student is interested in doing.