IT Business Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at MSD, as i had been provided the oppurtunity to take on different roles and responsibilities and had gotten to work with a variety of departments, which really helped me to build my confidence and commercial awareness. This also provided me an oppurtunity to think about which direction i want to take my career towards, which was a real and postive eye opener. I had also been given responsibility of leading my own projects, which added to improving my skills overall. Undertaking a placement has been my best decision.

Through working collaboratively on team projects and working cross-functionally, I really enjoyed working as a extremely valued team member rather than just as a 'student.' I had always been able to share my thoughts and ideas, which helped me to quickly build professional relationships and made me more comfortable to approach colleagues with any uncertainities.

A perfect amount of support had been provided by both my manager and team. I was able to approach anyone when i had been uncertain and had regular one to ones with my manager which allowed me to reflect and share my progress, feelings and development throughout each stage of the placement. Also when starting a new project, I had been eased into it all, which allowed me understand a project early on before i intended to take on a leading role or responsibility.

Suprisingly a good amount of busy right from the first day. I had been suprised about how many projects i could actually get involved with. There had never been a moment where i thought i did not have enough to do. Working on all of these projects helped me to build my networking skills and strengthen my knowledge of the business.

Suprisingly a lot, in a good context. Majority of times, you would think that students are not given much credit or responsibility, but at MSD you are eased into your roles and trusted that you will make good decisions and impacts within projects. From my experience this allowed me to realistically gain an insight into how much i could contribute towards with a positive initiative and felt trusted in fulfilling the role i was given.

The skills i have developed throughout the year are highly valuable to me, as they will help me to think about which direction i want to go into for my career and will help me to kick-start the direction i want to work towards. I have not only learnt skills related to my technical role, but also general skills that would assist me going into any profession, which will really help me in the future. Also through practising these skills in a workplace i have been able to identify and work on my weaknesses which has made this experience really valuable.

Working in a open plan office really helped to bring a relaxed and comfortable working atmosphere. As each member would be sat within this open plan, it made it very easy to approach indviduals from all teams within the business. It also allowed socialising, which really helped to build networks.

The placement had been very well organised from the very first day, I thoroughly loved every single day i went to work and felt very supported.

In terms of training and development, there had been many oppurtunities to attend and participate in a variety of professional workshops and trainig courses to build on skill areas of my interest. This really helped me to particularly develop my weaker skills or points of interest, alongside my everyday tasks.

Future employment prospects are very appealing at the organisation, I loved the fact that i had been able to work as a valued member of the organisation and felt comfortable with working with all colleagues. If given the oppurtunity, I would definitely return, as its nice to work where you as an indvidual fell valued and supported.

There had been a good social scene amongst all of us students, as we kept in contact regularly and had the oppurtunity to make new friends!

I had relocated for my placement year; however everything had been local and within a good distance of where i had worked. This really helped and encouraged me to go out and gain a better ‘work life’ experience. The cost of living had also been manageable, which allowed me to gain a good experience overall.

There had been good locations nearby, however as London had been within a short distance, it was really easy to commute to London and also have a good time and experience nightlife in different areas of London. I would most definitely recommend taking advantage of all the new experiences available at the numerous locations nearby!

Yes, definitely! An oppurtunity to get involoved with projects that have great initiatives outside of my daily role, allowed me to pursue my further interests.