Research Assistant Review

The project I was tasked with on placement is something that I've always wanted to work on and to achieve that was fantastic. I enjoyed the work placement to a huge extent and it's given me a taste of both the kind of work I'd like to do in the future and the 'real-world' working environment, which will be invaluable in the future.

I felt valued at all times by my team colleagues, as they could clearly see how much work I was putting in and were keep to help where they could. They were also very grateful for the help and assistance I gave them. I also felt valued by my office colleagues, which created a really positive and happy working environment. I felt valued by my manager for the most part, although when she was away (on maternity leave) it was difficult to communicate how much effort I was putting in without blowing my own trumpet all of the time! For this reason, I think some of my efforts were overlooked.

My manager at AHT was an outstanding mentor and this is purely down to her own dedication and management skill-set. She not only guided me through the very steep learning curve at the beginning of my placement, and encouraged me to take independence, but has led by example in how she manages both her team and her workload. This led me to go to her for advice on navigating tricky issues around work colleagues as well as for technical guidance. I have felt completely supported at all times however also able to lead my own projects and goals.

I was very busy on a daily basis. Although my workload was set by me to a certain extent, with deadlines often very far into the future, I felt a pressure to live up to the expectations of my manager and get more work done than I thought was possible! This has given me new insight in to efficient working techniques and I will be applying this to make my final year of uni much more productive.

I was given more responsibility than I expected from day one at AHT, which was brilliant as it showed a sense of trust which gave me confidence. I have always felt that the work was very much my own. After a few days of being supervised in the lab, what I was doing was not overlooked directly, although someone was always on hand if I had a question or needed help or advice. At the time this was daunting, but I found it helped me to quickly learn to work independently.

The placement has allowed me to diversify and grow dramatically in skill level, experience and confidence that will no doubt aid me greatly in completing my final year at university and in the professional world of work. I have found that many of the skills and techniques introduced to us at university have put me one step ahead of some of my colleagues, for example material properties, literature searches, basic statistics and recording notes during meetings. I have also gained huge experience in communicating effectively with a team and presenting my work on a regular basis.

The atmosphere in the office was fantastic! I felt that I really became friends with my co-workers and there were many laughs shared by all! It was so fun, in fact, that I got distracted from my work perhaps more often than I should have but I would not have changed it in any way. Birthdays, Christmas and special events were celebrated in force and I always looked forward to going in to work to see everyone.

The placement was set up very well, with students having a lot of responsibility from day one. It was set up on a student-by-student basis by my manager, and the company as a whole had very little to do with the students. For this reason, each student was treated individually as part of the small team as a valued member of staff.

My manager ensured that I had training and gained skills in certain areas that would be useful for me in the future, and for that I am very grateful. She invested a lot of time teaching me lab skills as well as mentoring me through a work and team-based environment. I feel that a lot of her effort was invested in my personal development, but only as she felt I was trying to learn as much as possible myself.

The future employment prospects are not incredibly appealing to me. Although the company offers many things that I value in a working environment, such as green space and flexible working hours, the salary and job security is not quite what I'm after (as your employment relies on scientific grants). I also now think that I would like to go to a more commercially-minded, ambitious company where my work could possibly have a larger impact.

There were a couple of other students and a few members of staff who were around my age and who I grew friends with. Having said this, it is not really the place for socialising and having large numbers of similarly-aged people. It's very much down to luck of who is there at the time, as there is not a fixed number of students every year. The company didn't organise socialising events for students at all.

The cost of living and socialising was, I would say, about average for the country. It was probably slightly more expensive than up north where I'm at uni but no where near London prices. It is definitely somewhere that I would consider living in the future price-wise, as property prices are reasonable for the quality of housing stock in the area. There are cheaper parts and more expensive parts (like Cambridge), and lots of different surrounding areas offer a variety of scene and price.

The nightlife was limited but good with the right people! Being situated in Newmarket means that there are a lot of horse-people on nights out, especially riders, which makes a change from the usual student scene! There are a few small places to go on a night out, all enjoyable, with good value drinks and good atmospheres. In no way a party town! But you could head in to Cambridge if that is what you were after.

There were lots of opportunities to do activities outside of work, however this was because of the area rather than the employer. The employer didn't organise any out-of-work activities for staff, however non-work friends made me feel incredibly welcome and I ended up doing a lot in the local area with them. There are many friendly sports clubs around and an endless number of racehorses to deal with!