Analyst Review

On the whole it was a useful experience. I applied knowledge I had learnt in University to my work and gaining security clearance was also useful regardless of where I go as a graduate. I would perhaps have liked a bit more variety to my work - I only worked on one major project during my summer placement. My team were great and flexi time was also very handy.

My colleagues were all great and just as interested in the field of work as I am. They appreciated my hard work which was nice. They were good fun to be around and my team leader was particularly good too. On occasions though, it was disappointing to be given basic/simple tasks, but I guess being the cheapest available resource, that is to be expected. As you work your way up the ladder there if you choose to return for a permanent career, I'm sure the basic/simple work will disappear fast!

Once given tasking for my project, I was essentially left to just get on with it and get it done. That being said, whenever I needed help, my team and/or work leads were always more than happy to help. In general, it's the kind of work place where people are more than happy to help if asked.

This varied if I'm honest. Early on in my placement, there wasn't a lot to do. Partly because I was just getting used to working at Dstl, and partly because my tasking was designed to familiarise myself with my project. Because there wasn't any deadline or foreseeable finish to the work, I just plodded along but it didn't necessarily keep me busy all the time. In the second half of my placement however, the work really ramped up, with formal deadlines, meaning that I really had to push myself to meet targets. That was much busier and I enjoyed that as opposed to the first half.

In some areas of my work, I was doing some pretty basic tasks. I did however get the chance to do my own strand of work and that was really enjoyable. Other than an assigned colleague to provide advice and monitor the work, I was fully in control and enjoyed the responsibility.

Even while not all the tasks were complex, you still learn from the more basic ones, without realising it at the time. I certainly developed a variety of skills and got the chance to put my studies into practice. Combine that with security clearance and having DSTL on my CV for the future, I definitely found the placement useful and would recommend it to others. It wasn't my dream job to settle at for life, but it provides a strong foundation to build your career on.

It is an open plan office, so every day I was sitting next to someone different. Usually my own team, but occasionally someone else. It's quite relaxed - everyone has their own work to be getting on with, so you're not being checked on or anything like that. Occasionally an interesting discussion will break out with your team and that's always interesting to get involved in and learn from the experience of others.

DSTL have a formal scheme for the summer placement and so everything went really well - it was all organised and ran to the book. There was always a policy or procedure in place for everything and anything that might come up, so it was really straightforwards.

Despite it being a summer placement, I still got the opportunity to do some internal training, which was great. It will help my CV, aided my knowledge in particular areas and was also directly relevant to my degree so will really be useful.

It all depends on your career aspirations and area of interest. I would certainly consider returning to DSTL and hopefully, with the placement experience with them, they would consider me as a future candidate. I don't know whether I would look to return to the same area of work, or perhaps try out a different department. I certainly plan to put in an application when I graduate.

DSTL has a scheme in place for new starts to facilitate and encourage social events which was good. That could include pub quiz events, nights out or similar. I didn't make it to many but that was mainly down to living a bit further away than most.

I lived in a pretty reasonable area and found my salary adequate to cover living and socialising costs, while still being able to save a bit! It wasn't an overly expensive area, probably not that cheap either but still reasonable.

I didn't actually go out and hit the nightlife as I lived too far away so I'm not entirely sure, but having had drinks out in the evening time was nice and pleasant. Portsmouth is quite an attractive city in places so theres plenty of pubs and clubs.

This really boils down to how much you want to get involved! There is a civil service sports club membership you can get which enables you to join any sports club you want to play for. That was nice to get involved in as you meet people working in different areas that you might otherwise not meet, and slowly build up a network of internal contacts and friends. There are also other non sporting clubs for those with particular interests too.