PSCD Student Review

I really enjoyed the placement and working for the company. Lubrizol is a very good company to work for and the skills I have learnt during my placement are skills that I will use for the rest of my working life. Everyone on site is really friendly and there were loads of other placement students as well so I've definitely made some friends for life!

During my placement I was treated as an employee and not a student which was really good for my professional development. I was also given and attended the same training as the other colleagues in the department which was really good as they didn't have to do this for me!

Support was always given when I asked for it. Sometimes I felt like I needed more guidance with the direction of my placement however this is because I was the first placement student in the department and since then the issue has been addressed so this shouldn't be the case for the next placement students in the department.

Throughout my placement, I have been a good amount of busy. I always had stuff to do but rarely felt overwhelmed with the amount. My supervisor made it very clear that I was never expected to work outside my contracted hours however sometimes I worked at home on presentations and my report but this was purely out of choice!

I was given however much responsibility I was comfortable taking on and I felt that this was good because it encouraged me to be involved and invested in my own placement. The amount of responsibility I was given was determined by how much effort I was willing to put in which developed my skills within the workplace.

The knowledge I learnt during industry was really helpful for reinforcing the theory learnt in textbooks at universities. It has definitely made me more determined as now I can see the end goal! I also know that a lot of what I learnt about chemical control laws was not specific to my degree studies however is very valuable if I want to work within this specialised degree field in the future. Additionally, interpersonal skills I have learnt will no doubt be invaluable for future jobs I have after graduation.

The general atmosphere in the office was a happy and friendly place to work in. Everyone in the department is really nice and I could have a joke with colleagues as well which definitely made the working day go quicker! Unless they are in a meeting or call, everyone generally keeps their office doors open too.

To be honest, the work placement wasn't set up well - it took a couple of months for my job role to be defined and my project didn't properly start until January as I had to define it. As I said earlier, everyone was very helpful with support though and I really doubt this will be the case for future students in this department. I suppose I was the guinea-pig!

As mentioned earlier, I attended all of the same training days as everyone else in the department. If I wanted to go on a training course I felt was relevant to my job role my supervisor was more than happy to support this. Additionally, my supervisor made a big effort to get me involved with presentations and was really helpful with giving me feedback. Other colleagues in my department were also extremely helpful with providing feedback for my report. I was really appreciative of this as they didn't have to do this for me but it really helped me!

Lubrizol don't have any graduate schemes in place but they have a history of employing students after their graduation. It is a really good company to work for so I would definitely consider the opportunity if I was in that situation! There's lots of people on site who have stayed with the company for many years so they must be doing something right!

Definitely a good social scene amongst the students and colleagues at Lubrizol and there are over 20 other students on site. Because we all work together and we get to see each other every day for most of the year you make friends with everyone very quickly.

Housing is cheaper in Derby than my university city (Newcastle). If you have got a car there's lots of big supermarkets nearby which will save you dollar. For socialising, the drinks in bars are more expensive than Newcastle but unfortunately I think that is to be expected from most other cities!!

Derby clubs are pretty average but there are some really nice bars. But it is definitely the people you are with, not the place!

Definitely. My housemates and I attended subsidised badminton with work colleagues every Monday. As there were two students who were involved with the Sports and Social Committee so we went ice skating, laser tagging, trampolining, etc. with work - all which were subsidised. Additionally, some of us went to Scotland for a 4 day hiking trip which was so much fun.