Scientific Computing Graduate Review
by Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Rating
-
Skills
4.8
-
Responsibilities
5.0
-
Support & Guidance
5.0
-
Culture
4.3
-
Your Impressions
4.7
- 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
- 2. Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
- How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
- How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
- How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
- Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
- 3. Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
- Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
- 4. How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
- How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
- How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
- 5. What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
- How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
- How would you rate the social opportunities?
- How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
- How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
- 6. To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
- Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
- Please rate how your experience met your expectations
- Please rate the future employment prospects at Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- 7. Would you recommend Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to a friend?
- 8. What advice would you give to others applying to Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Overview
I build machine learning models for biological data analysis and validation. I implement new features, integrate my tooling with larger departmental projects, and work laissez-faire either in the office or not - but aim for three days weekly in the office. I train a model on a new experiment, and write papers/read new material in the meantime.
Skills
Working at one of the national labs has many perks, but the high training budget is one - including courses at Oxford and multi-week international training courses on engineering/scientific disciplines. You also get proximity to the facilities, unique instruments with very unique users - very few people get the privilege of seeing a beamline, let alone using one. The environment is very academic, and the people are consistently interesting.
Responsibilities
It depends on the line manager and project, but in general you are responsible for a project which has meaningful goals towards the group and department, which motivates the LM to help you out when you need it since it really is their budget on the line - graduates form a huge part of projects large and small, meaning you can have responsibility for really cutting edge stuff.
Support & Guidance
I've had a constant line to various LMs or technical contacts as necessary. My recent project has seen me in very close collaboration with machine learning specialists and biochemists, and in general scientific teams have a very "flat" management chain - you're all in the same room, doing similar work, so I can ask anyone from fellow grads to the group leader for assistance without issue.
Culture
Scientific, slightly geeky, and generally lots of fun. Inclusive and welcoming. There is free coffee and doughnuts on Thursdays.
Your Impressions
I still work there and it's really good. It's a very different style of work to traditional corporate, but you're still on the cutting edge and it's great.
Yes
Apply if you genuinely enjoy science and scientific discovery. I'd do a research internship beforehand, if you can - figure out if the lifestyle is for you.
Details
Placement (10 Months+)
Computer Science
South West
September 2024
