IT Support Analyst

Jason

Design

Placement (10 Months+)

G-Research

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At what point in your degree did you do your placement?

My placement is taking place in the 3rd and penultimate year of my degree.

What were you looking for in your placement?

When searching for my placement I wanted to find a challenging role giving me the opportunity to learn and work with new technologies, develop my existing skill set and work with talented like-minded people in the computer networking industry.

What attracted you to G-Research?

I chose G-Research for my placement because I knew I would be working alongside some of the most talented people in the industry whist gaining experience in a role that is perfectly suited to me, the degree I am studying and the career path that I want to follow.

How does the placement scheme at G-Research work, i.e. structure, duration, range of responsibilities?

My 12 month placement at G-Research initially started in the IT support department but I was promptly given the opportunity to move to network operations after stating that I was extremely keen to gain experience in a networking role.

How did you find the transition from study to work?

I wouldn't describe the transition from study to work as particularly difficult it is more having to adjust from long term project based assessments to smaller, more technically challenging tasks that also have the added pressure of having to be completed as quickly as possible in most cases.

Describe a typical working day on your placement.

A typical day for me at work begins with making sure any circuit maintenance or outages from the night before are assessed and logged with the necessary third parties. The rest of the day I am responsible for monitoring our circuits on an international scale and providing network support to the rest of the company both over the phone and on our live ticketing system.

What did you enjoy about your placement?

The exposure to brand new technologies, using them on an everyday basis on such a large scale and working with fantastic people who are passionate about what they do.

What was the most challenging part of your placement?

Being thrown in at the deep end despite my lack of experience in some areas has been by far the most challenging aspect of my placement so far.

How did the experience benefit your career?

The skills I am learning and the exposure I am getting on my placement are second to none and they will definitely go a long way to helping me achieve the goals that I have set myself.

Finally, what advice would you have for other students who are planning work experience?

I can't speak highly enough about my experience on placement so far, I would advise anyone considering to apply for a placement to 100% go for it. Even after a few months I can see how completing a placement year is going to put me in a much stronger position in terms of career development in both my final year and after completing my degree.