Applied Sciences Student Chemist Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year at Lubrizol. One of the best experiences of my life.

Due to the amount of responsibility you are given as a placement student, I felt incredibly valued. I felt not different than if I was full time member of staff.

My supervisor has the right approach for me, he was very much a hands off type of manager but was always there if you needed help and support. This allowed me to be independent and get on with things without having someone over my shoulder.

Due to the customer based nature of the work carried out in AppS, there was lulls and extremely busy periods. When a big customer like Shell demand works ASAP, its all hands on deck to get it finished in time. However, there are also periods were everything is ticking over nicely. But even during these periods you will never be bored, there is always something to get your teeth into.

As a placement student within AppS, I was given a lot of responsibility by the end of the year. I managed and ran multiple routine tests throughout the department, as well as juggling a couple of longer term research projects. I would present these research findings direct to high ranks members within various business segments.

My placement at Lubrizol has helped me more than I could possibility imagine. Not only have my technical skills improved dramatically, but more importantly I have developed the key "soft skills" needed to work within a company. All traits that will be invaluable within the competitive jobs market.

As much as I hate to inflate the ego of my office mates, being apart of that office was the best part of going on placement. Not only did get to learn from experienced professionals, I made some great friends as well. The laughs were plenty, the rambling conversations were epic, and it was just a fantastic place to be for a year.

The application process of succinct and streamlined, the whole process from my submitting my CV to signing a contract took only a months or two. When I arrived everything was already set up and ready for me to start work immediately. There is always a familiarisation day before you start, in which you to meet your fellow placement students and get a day at Lubrizol.

There are various training coursing that are available throughout the year, student are perfectly able and encouraged to utilise these. With training courses like "Powerful Presentations", "4-Step Problem Solving Technique", "Communication Training" as well as many others, these help refine the key skills needed for the big wide world of work.

One of the only downsides of Lubrizol is that they don't have a graduate scheme in place per sa. However, it is known for it ex-students coming back and taking up full time positions. In my year alone, I saw 3-4 old students makes a return. You just have to apply for a job when there is a opening listed on their website.

With 30 or more students each year arriving at Lubrizol, there is always a good social scene. With nights out most weekends into Derby or other neighbouring cities (Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham), you'll never be twiddling your thumbs after a long week of work. Outside of the student lead activities, there is the sports and social club which provided heavily subsidised activites throughout the year (Munro bagging, Go-karting, paint balling, day trips, football, badminton etc).

Derby is a surprisingly cheap city, with plenty of options for shopping and reasonably cheap housing.

Derby is a bit of a hit or miss city, depending on your taste. I personally loved it, any city which has Popworld and Mosh within 10 meters of each other has my seal of approval. There are also plenty of nice bars and restaurants to keep you busy. Not to mention the infamous Sarry's, the late night takeaway which serves the ultimate drunk food cheesy chips and gravy. If Derby is not really your scene, there are regular busses and trains to Nottingham for a great night out.

Social activities there is a-plenty, with the sports and social club and high volume of student each year, there are always something going on. There are also lots of professional opportunities available; becoming a STEM Ambassador, local charity work, CSV (creating shared value) group.