Team Member Review

I greatly enjoyed working at Dstl these past 3 months, I have been given interesting work to do that I know other employers will be using once I leave. Due to the nature of the work Dstl does, what you get tasked to do here will most likely be something that you would not get to do / experience at other companies.

This is now my 4th time back at Dstl so I already know many members of the team, that definitely helps with fitting in. The work I was doing needed to be done to extend a capability, it will be used and distributed in the organisation and not just stored in a folder somewhere never to be used again.

There are always members of the team willing to help you should you get stuck with any technical work being done. Even if you are not stuck it’s always good to get a second opinion to ensure you are doing something in the most efficient way! For any general guidance Team Leaders, HR, Project Managers and many other staff are always available to answer any questions that arise.

I always had work to be do and if there was ever a time when I didn’t other work is always available. Dstl allows you to easily to do work from other teams, allowing you to experience and understand the vast amount of different work that goes on and give you skills in many different areas.

I was given a set of requirements to write a piece of software and it was entirely up to me how I went about doing it, as long as it did what was needed in a quick and efficient manner. You are not left completely in the dark though, there are previous examples to look at, coding standards to follow etc.

The coding styles and skills I have picked up will definitely help me with any future work I do; my degree is more theory based and so I don’t think my experience will directly help that. Gaining a good understanding of how large organisations work will undoubtedly be useful as well.

Friendly, there are 6 people in the office who will offer advice and guidance. Also go out for socials and pub lunches!

Unfortunately one piece of work I was originally tasked to do required a standalone computer, no one had checked to see if one was available which it turned out there wasn’t. Due to time it takes to procure new pieces of IT I would not have got it with sufficient time left to still do the work. This was a shame because it seemed quite interesting. The other work I was doing was already planned out and I had the required tools to do it.

During this placement it didn't really make sense to go on any training courses because by the time I would have come back I would not have time to do the work! During a previous industrial placement (which lasted 12 months) I was sent to two security conferences, tasked with writing them up and highlighting relevant presentations to different projects. This was definitely a great experience, you get to meet and talk to researchers who are at the cutting edge of their fields.

I have had great experiences with Dstl but unfortunately they are moving from the site I am currently working on to one of their other sites in the Salisbury area. If you are fine with living and working in that area of the country then I would definitely recommend applying to Dstl.

Dstl has a new starters group called STEPS which every new starter (student or otherwise) is invited to join. This group regularly holds social events throughout the year.

The South East is pretty expensive but cheaper than London!

In Sevenoaks there are many pubs and bars to go to, clubs not so much. However, London is a 40 min train journey away and is often where we went for our socials.

I don't recall any being advertised.