Computational Scientist Review

I found my placement to be better than expected. I was extremely lucky as the people I work with are very helpful and my placement has allowed me to learn many things that I would never be able to learn at uni. I much prefer being on placement to doing my regular uni course, I really enjoy my time.

All my colleagues are very kind and helpful, they make me feel like a full member of the team, they never treated me like "just the intern" which was something I really did not expect before and was a pleasant surprise.

I was given support an guidance whenever I needed it and asked for it. They also made sure from time to time I was okay with my job.

It was variable. They are very flexible at the office so I came in and left according to how much work I needed to do. On occasions i would leave at 4 but on very busy days I'd stay until 6.30

When having to do things which put a lot of responsibility on me, I was asked beforehand if I was okay with it. i wanted to get as much experience as possible so I said yes to all of these opportunities (eg. supervising a high school summer placement student)

It has helped me decide what direction of chemistry to go into, and that is the sort of final year project I will choose at the university next year. Also it has definitely helped me because I made a lot of connections and friends, I have gained insight to many people's jobs and now i have a better idea of what kind of job i'd like ot get in the future after I graudate.

The general atmosphere is incredibly friendly. It is a small department and everybody is extremely nice to each other. At times we organized some events outside working hours, I truly enjoy the environment.

Everything was perfectly organized, which helped me look forward to starting my placement instead of being anxious. Throughout the placement I received advice and help whenever needed.

They have sent me to a conference in London as well as to a 2 day workshop in Amsterdam. My manager also invested a lot of time in me, helping me with developing programming skills even when they were not tightly related to the very project we were working on at the time. My manager had the best intentions and he tried his best to allow me to get the most possible out of this placement.

I am not sure if I would be able to get a job directly at the company but I definitely made some contacts at other companies and organizations while working together on a project, so I believe I will have some opportunities when I graduate.

Even though there was only 1 other placement student in the office, we were spending our time together, all of us, regardless of age or position since the whole department is so small.

Cost of living is higher than I was used to but thankfully I was able to pay for it. There isn't much socialising in this town.

There isn't too much nightlife, but London is only a 20 minute train ride away.

I joined a gym and I take classes there. I also made friends with some housemates. Other than that, I spent most of my weekends traveling, away from here, so i did not get involved in too many things. If i had been here more at weekends, I believe it's possible to find something to do at all times.