Research and Development Placement Student Review

I enjoyed working with a variety of people who were all driven and committed to the work they were doing. I also enjoyed creating and taking part in additional opportunities for professional development and social events that were well supported by the company. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the office spaces were improved and there were more benefits for employees (subsidised food, onsite gym, etc.).

I felt highly valued by my colleagues as they relied on me to deliver good quality work and also put to use any specialist skills I had. My colleagues were willing to invest time in me so that I could perform better which aided my own development as well as the performance of the team I was working in.

I had two managers during the placement; a line manager who was responsible for all the placement students (~15) and a team manager who was responsible for myself and the colleagues I worked with. I had regular meetings with my line manager but only a few with my team manager however I could have very easily had more contact time if I asked for it. I have never experienced a lack of support/guidance.

I always had a steady stream of work but at times I could have been doing more. The general impression I got from this placement is that it was up to me to go and ask for additional work and not expect it to be assigned me by default. I think that this is a good system but it took me a while to grasp that a busy day is actually better than an easy day.

I was given a moderate amount of responsibility with the option to gain more if I wanted it but also hand it back to my colleagues if I was struggling. I was very happy with this as it allowed me to initially learn and develop in a relatively low pressure environment before taking on more responsibility once I was competent.

In terms of technical skills, this placement was largely a step down from the kind of work that I do at university but I think this is (surprisingly) typical in engineering. What I do think will be incredibly useful is the broad range of professional skills and experience that I have gained. These are mostly related to organising work and collaborating in a team but you develop a much richer understanding from practising them in a workplace setting with other professionals as opposed to at university with other students.

Generally people are working at their computers or talking to colleagues about work. The office spaces can be a bit noisy sometimes due to the large amount of people in a single room however the desks are a good size and you don't feel cramped. Everyone is very polite and people tend to bring in cakes for birthdays or other celebrations.

The placement was incredibly well set up and consisted of two 6-month rotations in different departments. The first rotation was allocated to me but I did have a degree of choice in the second rotation. It was always very easy to speak to the placement manager if I had any questions regarding the placement.

The company supported myself and other placements in organising visits to other sites and learning about the work they do there. The company funded travel expenses for these trips. We were also encouraged to organise presentations and career talks from managers that covered technical subjects as wells as professional development topics which took place during the normal working day.

The graduate scheme seems to be much the same as the placement scheme but covers four 6-month rotations as opposed to only two. It is common to find employees at the company who started out on the grad scheme and have remained for several years afterwards, receiving a number of promotions to more senior roles. This is encouraging to see clear evidence of career progression.

As placements we have organised various social events throughout our time at the company. There are also occasional social events organised by non-placement colleagues. I think your experience of the social scene on this placement is very dependent on the type of people you work with and how keen the other placement students are for these events.

The cost of renting a house seemed to be higher than what you would expect from the quality of the housing. Costs associated with food and socialising were much more in line with what you would expect from anywhere outside of London. The placement salary covered the cost of living and socialising whilst still allowing me to save some money.

There were a few pubs and a fairly unremarkable club in the centre of town. The main downfall was the lack of students and so overall the nightlife was pretty poor. This wasn't a big deal for me but if I wanted a better experience then London is easy to get to on the train.

There were plenty of sports clubs to get involved with including football, touch rugby, rock climbing, tennis, badminton, basketball, rowing, and others. There was also a good range of gyms throughout the town and green spaces to go walking/running. The Young Professionals committee at work did a good job of organising these activities.