"This was an excellent experience for me to work with a professional team. I really enjoyed the opportunity to challenge my skills and personality in a very busy office. I found out more about my potential and it was really interesting."
Why did you choose to do a placement; and why here?
When my course started I was not sure whether to take a year off for work experience or not. It was near the end of my second year when I changed my mind, I thought having a year’s experience would help me to complete the third year of my course with more confidence and this would boost my CV.
I had completed a 70 hours work experience in the Network Team of the IT department and it was a great experience. Therefore, I decided to apply for this placement in the same department.
Describe what you did on placement
I was working as a System Support Assistant. This role included a wide range of tasks from account administration to building servers and managing backups.
What projects did you work on?
Installing and setting a new server in the Sports Park campus of the University.
Transferring Virtual servers from VMware to Hyper-V.
What new skills and knowledge did you gain?
Knowledge of account administration and working with Active Directory, building virtual servers and Linux.
How will this placement help your career?
I managed to apply for a full-time role in the same office and this placement was my key to success and get the full-time job.
How did you find out about the placement and how did you apply?
A member of staff who is a Placement Adviser informed me about the placement and advised me through the application process. I applied online via the university website.
How have you felt returning back to USW after the placement?
I feel much more confident now and I strongly believe the placement was an excellent experience to improve my knowledge, skills and personality.
Has the placement led to a job offer or anything else such as fees to be paid; a research opportunity
Yes, it has. I have got a full-time job in the same office and I have this job because of the placement.