Abrasive Systems Development Technician Review

It was great to have the opportunity to not only find out about what life is like in a real work-place environment, but to also to see where my degree could take me. Another thing I enjoyed about my 3M placement was developing products that I have been able see all the way through to completion. Furthermore my particular placement had a great range of differing projects for me to work on.

I really enjoyed working alongside my colleagues at 3M. It was a great balance of support from those managing my project as well as the independence and trust to be able to go off on my own and lead particular areas of the project. This was one of the best things about working with 3M because I was surprised by the amount of trust I had to work independently despite my role as a placement student.

At the beginning of the year I was given a lot more support by my line manager and this gradually lessened as the year went on. This was the perfect balance for me as it allowed me the comfort to get used to my new role and learn from my supervisors. However, as I grew more confident it was great to be given more freedom to work on my own.

I felt my workload varied over the year. At some times I felt that I could have perhaps been given a few more things to do in the office/lab. However this is the nature of real life and as the year went on I was given more responsibility in my role and therefore my workload increased to a manageable level.

As I said above the responsibility I was given varied and grew over the course of my placement. The placement students from the previous year were on hand to help out for the first two weeks allowing me to settle into my role and learn the workings. I really enjoyed the increased responsibility as time went on, especially as my manager was always really helpful and brilliant at supporting me whenever I needed it.

My placement gave me a great insight into my career path after university and it was fantastic to see the application of my studies in the real-world. It also helped me to develop an understanding and experience using different pieces of lab equipment and techniques. Moreover, I was also able to apply using this equipment to product development.

3M was a great place to work, everyone in my office was extremely friendly and got on well together. It was fantastic to have this supportive atmosphere during my placement and I was able to ask any one of my colleagues for support over the course of the year.

Working with 3M was really well organised not only for having a variety of projects to work on over the course of the year, but there were also other opportunities available for placement students. There were different transferable skill workshops that we were able to attend as well as more social events involving the whole placement student cohort.

During my year in placement I felt like a valued member of the 3M team. Not only was I trusted with independent projects but I was also given the opportunities to undertake various skill building workshops that helped me to improve my practice. Taking part in these courses was great to develop skills as well as to feel like part of the 3M family.

After my year in placement I've had a great insight into the type of careers available in 3M and the type of work that would be available to me after a MChem course. Furthermore I was able to learn a lot about the graduate application process for 3M and have gained a vast amount of experience to the workings of 3M and the company values.

Over the course of the year I was able to attend a number of internally organised events within my own office and I loved getting to know my colleagues at 3M and felt like a valued member of the team. Furthermore there were also a number of placement student events and opportunities for us to meet up and share our experiences from lots of different UK sites.

I worked in Atherstone 3M and the surrounding area was low cost in all areas, particularly as I was able to live with a fellow 3M placement student over the year. Not only was rent low cost in the area but socialising such as meals and drinks out were also low cost as it was not an inner-city area.

Atherstone is not a big town or city and therefore the nightlife is not comparable to your normal university experience, however Birmingham is not far away particularly on the train and there are plenty of opportunities to socialise throughout the year.

Over the year I got involved in numerous social activities with colleagues and other placement students. There were various company meals and also placement student meet-ups that allowed us all the chance to get to know each other and catch up throughout our year.