This is just a balancing post, to my previous The benefits of a placement.
Don’t get me wrong, I have seen and experienced the benefits of a placement year. I didn’t need to worry about applying for graduate jobs in my last year. I just enjoyed my life, as a uni student in a pandemic. But I look back and I can see some things, that I could have changed had I known I could change them at the time.
Firstly, placement year doesn’t prepare you for adult life. I was expecting it to, but it doesn’t. Not everyone will go through what I went through, but uni doesn’t stop just because you’re at work. They expect you to keep a diary, and to keep note of everything your learning, which you will have to present in some sort of way at the of your placement year. On top of that I had to complete essays, my master’s project and random modules to achieve my credits. It was hard to balance all of that, with a full-time job. Now, I am actually adulting, I can see that placement year was just a terrible uni year. I really would have appreciated some extra information or warning before I started applying, uni’s really drive you to get a placement, but don’t fully tell you what to expect. It’s a lot of work.
Another thing, I still had to pay university tuition fees even though I wasn’t receiving any lectures. Yeah, ok, it wasn’t the full amount but it was still something, especially since one of my lecturers was rude to me the whole time I was doing his module. Small note: If you need to choose a topic for uni, don’t choose the topic with a lecturer you don’t like, because that makes it way worse than the project was already going to be. I know paying the fee wasn’t avoidable, but some warning on that would have been great. Also, you still get the option to take the maintenance loan, I didn’t take it, but in hindsight I wish I did.
If you ever feel uncomfortable at work (especially placement) raise it to someone you trust. I spent months, dealing with a difficult co-worker, to the point where I actually hated going into work. I eventually told someone who I trusted (and no it wasn’t my manager) and that person sorted it for me. The co-worker wasn’t happy, and thought I was being dramatic because to them it was all jokes, but at least they stopped. That’s all it took, a year is a long time to be putting up with difficult people, so don’t delay.
One thing I recently found out was, ‘just because you accept the graduate job, doesn’t mean you can’t look for other job opportunities before you finish the academic year’. I accepted my graduate job, because I was scared at the time. It was 2020, so the pandemic was still pretty new, there was tonnes of news that 2020 graduates lost their roles before they started, because companies were struggling. And I freaked out and accepted for the job security. Also, they called in September, I hadn’t even started my last academic year yet, so job applications weren’t on my mind, so it caught me by surprise. Lastly, I got scared that if I looked for other roles and managed to get offered a job, then I would get put on some “blacklist” by the company, because I would change my mind, after accepting that earlier offer, and then it would affect my future job prospects. So, I could have been working in a different industry right now, but this experience will build my character, and I still have my future ahead of me.
Moral of my story:
- It doesn’t replicate graduate life- Placement year involves a lot more work both in and out of work hours
- Take the student loan- You still need to pay for university and why spend your hard-earned cash when the loan is available.
- If you feel uncomfortable at work, tell someone- Life is too short to put up with negative people
- You’re allowed to change your mind- Don’t feel pressured to keep the first offer, until you get your degree, you can look for others.
