Placement Experience: IS Placement - University of Portsmouth - Callum De-Gruchy

What motivated you to pursue an optional placement year?

I had always planned to do a placement during my studies. My course was advertised as a sandwich course and promoted being able to do a placement after my second year, which also motivated me to come to Uni as I believe experience is very, if not more, valuable than the degree itself.

How many placement applications did you make? 

I applied for two different placements. I got through to the final stages on my first application but never got asked for an interview – this is okay! This happens to a lot of placement students, I have a friend also on placement who applied for a different placement every other week trying to get an interview.

What tips would you give to students about balancing placement applications with university studies?

Take advantage of the University of Portsmouth’s placement team! They are brilliant and here to support you – talking to them makes submitting strong applications easy. Even if you’re just considering doing a placement, go speak to them. They are a great team and a great help! – You can email them or book a meeting or pop into the career service.

What were your main concerns about taking a placement year?

Personally, what got to me was a lot of the people I met at Uni weren’t doing one which meant what was supposed to be our last year of Uni for all of us, wasn’t for me anymore. When I come to do my final year a lot of friends won’t be here anymore.

Any challenges have you faced during your placement, and how have you overcome them?

I was fortunate enough that my placement is in Portsmouth with the University’s Networking and Security team, but transitioning from a student to staff member working full-time hours came with some challenges. I was trying to balance my social life and relationships with work, it was weird realising that student nights on Wednesdays weren’t worth going to anymore as I was up early the next day, but overall it was just an adjustment period and I still have loads of fun outside of work.

What has been the most rewarding part of your placement so far?

I’ve worked on a few projects so far on my placement and all of them have felt really rewarding in their own right. So far I would say the most rewarding achievement I have felt was when I fixed an issue the team was having for a while which put a project on pause. The team let me know how impressed they were and let me take over the project afterwards - and if you have a computing background, you know how rewarding it feels when you finally find out why something isn’t working as it should or has been!

Has your placement experience influenced your perspective on your chosen career path or field of study?

Completely! Before my placement I had no idea what I wanted to do after University, on my placement I have made many connections and it has opened my eyes to how many different career paths I can take with my degree and the knowledge I have gained from my placement, and how many different specialties and focuses you can have in one career path.

Would you recommend the placement year to other students?

If you get an offer to do one then I’d definitely recommend you take it. You learn so much and the experience is just as valuable as having a degree. However don’t beat yourself up over it if you can’t get one, but I would say it’s definitely worth speaking to the placement team to consider your options, and if your already set on wanting to do one then your best bet is speaking to them!