Student chemist Review

I really enjoyed my placement year at Lubrizol. My job was very interesting and I was made aware of the impact my work had on customers and the business. All staff members were very friendly and welcoming, which made it very easy to settle in and feel like part of the team.

My colleagues always made me feel valued, letting me know where my work was going and how much they appreciated what I was doing. I was given a lot of responsibility with customer work and I was shown how much this was valued not only by my department and supervisor, but also the business managers.

My supervisor and I had monthly 1 to 1 meetings to discuss my progress and whether I needed any extra help etc, however we shared an office so it became easy to bring things up at any point. The department manager was always available and had time to chat to students if they had any concerns or problems.

Most days would be busy but manageable, especially once I had gotten stuck into my projects. During busy times when there were customer deadlines, I always had the support of my supervisor and colleagues so it didn't feel too much. There were also quiet times, but it really depends on what is going on with the business at that exact time - urgent work often came in but then there would be a period where it was more quiet and I could concentrate on report writing.

A lot more than I was expecting! Once I had settled in and learned more about my job I was able to take on a lot of responsibility in some customer projects as well as fundamental knowledge projects. During weekly and monthly meetings my suggestions were listened to and it was my responsibility to come up with ideas and test them out.

During placement I had the opportunity to design and present a poster which will help in my final year of university and beyond. I have also gained a lot of experience presenting, which was one thing I wanted to improve while on placement. I've presented at informal meetings, as well as larger conference style meetings, which has grown my confidence in presenting my work to a wide range of people.

Our office was mainly made up of people all working for the same business segment, so everyone would know what each other was working on. This created a really good working atmosphere as we could discuss projects and know when we needed to step back from our own work and help someone out. Overall the office was very lighthearted, fun and welcoming.

The students are all put in contact with each other before arriving which made it easy to find people to live with and find a house, and made it less daunting on our first day as we already knew everyone. At the start there was some reading to do as the work was not covered at all in my university course. Once I had grasped that I was given my own project to research and work on, as well as helping my supervisor with standard work and testing that needed to be done.

I was trained on all the tests I would need to run throughout the year. I also received training in laser safety due to the labs I was working in. There was also a poster training session to help us design our posters, which will help going back to uni where I will have to make another.

I would love to go back to Lubrizol! Whether I go back will depend on the job opportunities available, as so many people love working there, there aren't often job vacancies. However, I would be very interested in doing a Lubrizol sponsored PhD as I know how good they are with students and what a good company they are to work for.

At the start of the year, the majority of students would meet up weekly outside of work to go to bars/pubs/clubs. This died down a bit once people had coursework and exams to do, but we had a student Christmas meal to get everyone together. There seemed to be a divide between the science and non-science students, but this didn't create a bad atmosphere.

I lived in Derby city in a student house which was relatively average in terms of cost of student rent. Socialising can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. There are plenty of very nice bars and restaurants if you want to spend a bit more, but there are also a lot of cheaper places.

Not great but not terrible. If you like Popworld, you're sorted.

Lubrizol has a sports and social club that is subsidised for members (which costs barely anything for students). They run sports clubs each week (badminton, football etc) and also run trips to York, London and Liverpool, amongst many other events. There is also the Lubrizol ball which is great fun.