This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
The work was varied and I enjoyed being able to apply the skills I had learnt during my course to real psychological research which could benefit someone.
All of my colleagues were lovely and were very willing to give me help and guidance. Also, if I found another project interesting that I was not already working on, I was able to complete some work on it; this allowed me to gain experience in various areas of research psychology.
Managers were really supportive and were able to provide assistance if needed.
The work varied from day-to-day. There were some really busy periods but some days I was bored.
I was given the opportunity to provide my own input into a lot of reports. Most project managers liked being presented ideas from another perspective.
My role allowed me to develop my research skills which will be crucial when conducting my dissertation project.
The Company
The open planned office meant that everyone got to know each other really well.
The placement was well structured but also had the flexibility for you to gain experience in areas which interested you.
Money for training is usually set aside for permanent members of staff so the opportunity to go on courses and attend events was very rare. However, this varied depending on the department.
Flexi Time
Subsidised/Company Gym
International Travel
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
There are a lot of cutbacks within the organisation meaning that getting a graduate job in the role that I would like is unlikely.
The Culture
STEPS organise weekly events for the students to get to know each other and the group organised a Christmas party every year. The only problem was that my department was split across sites meaning that often the two could not socialise together.
Living costs in Salisbury are high and there is not really a student scene even though it is a small city meaning that going out can be costly. Porton does have a housing estate for students but you would need a car to get in and out of town as it is in the middle of nowhere.
Salisbury is a small town and it can be very boring on a night out as there are limited places to go.
DSTL has many clubs and societies but outside of this there were very limited opportunities.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Science
South West
October 2014