Manufacturing Test Placement Student Review

I have really enjoyed my placement at ASM so far. I have gained a lot not only technical skills but also a lot of soft skills that would help toward my degree and improving my employability. Everyone in the company is normally very helpful and very appreciative of your work.

My manager has always been keen on giving me tasks that are related to my University degree/interests unlike in some other placements where I was just used as cheap labour. My department were always appreciative of my work and I always had the feeling of being a valuable asset to the company especially when I saw how important my projects were to the company. My opinions/ideas were always valued, even when it was a “bad idea”, I was always listened to, provided with an explanation of why it will not work, and then given some guidance on how to improve it or come up with a better idea.

I believe my department provided me with the perfect balance between providing support and independence. At the start of any project, I was always provided with the requirements and support needed for said project but then left to be creative in coming up with a solution that would meet the requirements. I never felt uneasy for asking a question and if it was something that no one in my department had the answer for, I was always pointed to the right department/person who can help.

Throughout my placement, I have always been fairly busy. I always had 2 to 3 projects work on at a time so that if I am waiting for something for one of the projects and I can always start in the next one and when I finished I was given the new set of projects. Some of the projects had hard deadlines but most were finish them as soon as you can and even for the projects with hard deadlines, I was always given the project well ahead of the deadline to have enough time to finish it.

Being the only software developer in our sub-department, I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement. I was mainly given the hardware that needed to be tested, the test equipment, and the test requirements and then left to develop the test software on my own. However, whenever needed, I was always provided with help either from my department or from other departments.

I didn't require a lot of training for my role, it was mainly just how the machine and its subassemblies work. However, I have gained valuable experience in software development and on how to test different systems taking into account operator safety, automating data collection, and designing tests that will match how the system will operate inside the machine.

The atmosphere in my department was generally relaxed and fun. You had a constant stream of projects, but you were also allowed to go for quick breaks when you needed some time off the screen.

My placement was very well organised. I had a stack of projects from the get-go. I always had 2-3 projects to be working on at a time. When I was given a project, I was also provided with all of the training needed for completing said project. Of course, on some rare occasions, some projects had their priority bumped up compared to the other projects, but you were always given enough time to finish it.

Again, I did not require a lot of “technical” training for my placement except for when I was given a new project where the training needed was to understand how this subassembly carries out its function. On the other hand, I have gained a lot of skills and valuable experience from the number of projects that I have been involved in.

I would be more than happy to return to work at ASM after finishing my University as I have really enjoyed my placement. The work environment is great and most of the people are really friendly plus there are a lot of very exciting and challenging projects which you can get involved in.

I got along really well with the other students and have made some awesome friends. We normally hung out during weekends and we would go out to a restaurant or the cinema sometimes after work. We had some activities organised by the company at the start of the placement to bring all of us together.

I rented a one-bedroom apartment in Dorchester, so it was a bit more expensive compared to most of the other students, but it was still cheaper than similar apartments in Sheffield (where my Uni is). I would not advise living outside of Weymouth if you do not have a car as in my example, it took me around 80 minutes to go home after work that is if the buses were not late. Entertainment is really cheap for example, cinema tickets are half the price of cinema tickets in Sheffield.

The company has a Social and Sports Club which usually organises social events such as Windsurfing and Paddleboarding sessions, a Summer party and a Christmas party, weekly social football and badminton sessions, and more. As Weymouth is a seaside town, you will find that there are a lot of water sport activities that you can get involved in but I would advise that you make the most out of the summer as in the winter, the number of outdoor activities that you can carry out drops slightly.