Placement student Review

The culture was amazing. Before starting work there I had heard very positive things about the lifestyle and this definitely proved to be the case. There is lots of fun events organised on site (some for learning, some just for fun) and excellent sport facilities and green outdoor space. The people were very friendly and as a group of students we all got on very well. As for actually doing the work, some days it got repetitive or the results I got were disappointing, but other days were more encouraging (as with many jobs), but the lifestyle meant I never dreaded going into to work, not even on Mondays!

I had 4 supervisors whilst on placement and they took an interest in my work. Other colleagues were friendly and approachable but tended to get on with their own work. It was easy to intergrate at social occasions like coffee breaks and pub lunches.

Initially lots of training then left to get on with it. Always approachable if I had problems.

Some days were busier than others. I didn't generally have to stay late to get the work done but sometimes it was a struggle to get all the lab work done. Some weeks were a little too quiet, although often there was plenty of my own work to be getting on with e.g. reading journal articles or writing my reports!

I was largely responsible for my own project and ensuring targets were achieved. My project within the department was of reasonable importance although the fact that most of my experimental results were disappointing didn't affect the department that much.

Having done the placement and had a year of experiencing working life will definitely help. I have experienced a reasonably wide range of experimental techniques although some students working on other projects will have experienced more, and some less. There were times when I was doing very repeated work and e.g. I am well practised in cell culture but have done no genetics work. The project you end up with will determine how good an experience you get. If your project seems rather limited then try to shadow and observe other colleagues and even students to make up for this.

Due to job cuts and redundancies it's unlikely I'll get a job there in the near future.

We all got on very well as students and had lots of social gatherings (both nights out and other socials) throughout the year.

I lived in Macclesfield and generally this was cheap, my rent was £62 per week and there were cheap food shops / markets in the town centre. £2 - 3 for a pint.

A bit naff (places that were pubs/restaurants by day with the chairs & tables pushed aside by night) but we learnt to enjoy ourselves and Manchester was close enough for those seeking more.

There were several clubs in the town centre (from drama to chess to orchestras) and lots of sports clubs at work (outside of working time).