Industrial placement - analytical chemistry Review

I have really enjoyed the placement year. During the placement year I was able to pick up new skills and was given a lot of learning opportunities. The colleagues are also very friendly and the working environment was great.

Since the start of the placement year I was already given some important tasks. The departure of one of my colleagues made the team a lot busier. Before a new staff was recruited I was given a lot of difficult tasks. Having my work approved by my supervisor and colleagues has made me feel valued.

My supervisor was fantastic. Because the area of chemistry I worked on during my placement was not covered in the university's syllabus, I was having a lot of difficulties in the early stage. However, my supervisor has spent a lot of time teaching me the techniques. He also had regular meetings with me to make sure I was taught what I wanted to learn.

It depends on the time of the year. Because of the nature of the role, I spent most of my time supporting the site. When there are a lot of issues, the team get very busy. When there are not so many incidents on the site, I am very relaxed as only development tasks were needed to be done.

I was not given a lot of responsibilities at the start. However, as soon as I am more familiar with the techniques and feel comfortable to work on my own, I was given a lot of responsibility. The departure of one of the member in the team also meant that I needed to bear more responsibility.

The skills developed during the placement year are very valuable. It is unlikely that they will help my degree studies because my university does not cover it in the course anyway. However, these skills are highly transferable, picking them up has definitely made me more competitive in the job market.

It was very friendly and relaxed, even when there are a lot of work. Staff were friendly and colleagues did encourage each other. Everyone was motivated and was able to work as a team. The team members are also very funny. Jokes never stopped and there were smiley faces everywhere.

The work placement was set up nicely, I was given the right amount of work for most of the time and was supported during the year. Things were set up so the placement flows smoothly. Both the agency and the company have provided a lot of support during the year to ensure that the placement stayed organised

The company has given me the opportunities to pick up new skills that do not come with university studies. I was able to work and learn at the same time. I was constantly taught and supported by my supervisor. Some key skills (not chemistry-related) had also been developed during the year.

My performance during the placement year was not great so it is unlikely I will be accepted to the company again. However, there are quite a lot of job opportunities and I did see some people got return offers before they finish their placement and went back their universities to finish their studies.

People are very friendly and they do spend time with each other outside work.

I worked in a town in the east coast of Scotland, where a lot of people working in the oil industry live. However, the cost of living was not too bad. Goods were not overpriced, the rent was just about the same as other cities in Scotland, which is quite affordable.

There are quite a few small pubs in the town, However, the town is very small and the nightlife is nowhere as good as one may get from a city. It is also a town with a lot of retired people which means that there were hardly anything going on at night.

There was not a lot of social events outside of work. People did go to the pub and spent time together outside of work. However, there were almost no social events organised by the company. The town I worked at is quite small and there were not a lot to do. However, the town are close to two small cities. People can have a lot of fun if they have the time to travel.