Statistician Review

I had a really good experience and enjoyed the work that I did, as I found it challenging and rewarding. Sometimes when work load was a bit low I found that the days did drag and it would wear me out, but I enjoyed my placement overall. My life outside of work was also really good.

I felt highly valued by my colleagues, and they would always thank me when I produced good work. I was able to work with each member of the team and got on with each of them very well, and they treated me with a lot of respect. As the year progressed, they trusted me with increasing responsibility.

My manager was very supportive from the first day until the last. I had a weekly meeting with her where I could discuss my workload, and anything else. Through my first weeks my manager, and other members of the team, helped set up everything that needed to be set up, and introduced me to the way the department works.

Generally my workload was fairly well balanced. However there were times, sometimes lasting a couple of weeks, where my workload was really quite low and I would find myself bored. This did improve throughout the year though, particularly as I gained experience and knowledge so that I could take on more projects. It was rare that I was too busy.

As mentioned before, I was given increasing responsibility during my placement. It was really rewarding being able to complete important projects. Having said this, I was still offered help whenever I needed it, and usually carried out projects alongside another statistician. This way I was able to ask for help when I felt out of my depths.

In terms of statistics, I learnt a lot of new skills that will enable me to carry out related modules in my final year at Uni. I was also able to apply statistical knowledge learnt at Uni to work. Other than these skills, I have improved communication, presentation and organisation skills. There were training sessions for these soft skills throughout the year. I've learnt to program in SAS with the help of courses run by the department (I had no prior knowledge).

The atmosphere in the office was quiet, which provided a nice place to get on with work. My main complaint was that the office would often be very cold!

The placement in terms of how the department were set up was very well organised when I arrived. The department had students for a number of years so the process was very familiar to them. There were things that I thought were more complicated than they needed to be, for example working out many holidays I was entitled to during the year.

I was really happy throughout the placement with the development opportunities I was offered by the company. This included skills sessions for all the students, as well as training offered by the department for specific statistical methods. I was also able to go on tours of other sites.

The employment opportunities within the organisation are good, particularly in statistics, where they are recruiting more people. There is a future leader program that can be applied for on placement. These programs are difficult to get on to, and didn't really offer a program that I felt was right for me. I would definitely consider applying for a graduate role.

I had a great year with the other students in Ware, and feel that I've made friends for life. I expected my social life to be a lot quieter than Uni, but this has not at all been the case, as we have been able to make the most of our evenings and weekends together.

The rent was very variable, so it depends how lucky you get. it ranged from about 280-600. Drinks were expensive, close to London prices. However it's very cheap to get to London which was a bonus.

Although Ware is not exactly a big student clubbing scene, there are many nice pubs, particularly in the summer where you can sit beside the river. There are also decent restaurants. We went out in Hertford most weekends, which is just a 5 minute train away, and this was a reasonable night out. Occasionally we would go out in London, as it is not too far to go.

I was able to play 6 a side football twice a week, which was very cheap as it was subsidised by gsk. There were also opportunities to play cricket at work, and a couple of gyms to choose from. Although I was not ever a member of the social club, I know that it offered many other opportunities.