IT Assistant Review

When it came to the last week of my placement year, it started to hit me that I was actually going to be leaving. Even though I only worked there for 13 months, it just felt like home and that it was the right place for me. The work was a mixture of challenging and straight-forward tasks as well as having a lot of variation so I was doing the same job every day.

They made me feel like I'd been part of the team for 20+ years like themselves had been. I was involved in as many projects as was possible and I was also regarded on the same level as them, not as 'just a placement student'.

My supervisor gave me the initial support to train me up fully in the job I was going to undertake for the placement year and also helped me out when I came across new problems to solve. I also received a lot of guidance from my department manager who always had time to listen to any queries I had.

I had a number of standard tasks to do on a daily basis and the longer I worked there, the quicker and more efficient I became at doing those. This then gave me more time to complete longer tasks so I could beat deadlines easier. I always had something to do which stopped any chance of me being bored.

I would say I was given a lot of responsibility for a placement student. There were times where all of the staff in the department would not be in the office and they trusted me to keep the department operational.

The skills I developed will help me for all of my career as I was taught in a way that made me think a lot more logically about problem solving. For the first time in my career, I also had to follow standard company procedures which will help me in future as I can't always do things the way I want to.

The atmosphere was great in the office as it was a small team that I worked in. This meant that we all got to know each other really well and could easily have a laugh whilst working. The staff made it a really friendly environment which made going to work as enjoyable as possible.

The work placement was very well organised as the company had a set role for me within the department. In terms of communication with the University, I was in control of that so I updated them when needed.

The company trained me to do the job they wanted from my placement. There was no additional training or investment towards myself.

There is no current graduate scheme in place so future employment would be through the standard application procedure in any company.

There was a student break room for lunch where all the placement students could meet up. There was a foosball table also for student use.

The cost of living wasn't too dissimilar to the costs of living at University in terms of bills and rent p/w.

There are very few pubs and clubs about but there are a few nice bars and restaurants for something a bit more upmarket.

Emails were regularly sent out for placement students to participate in social activities such as representing the company in a charity football match.