My thoughts on the placement year

Students at university are fortunate enough to have access to a number of different opportunities whilst they undertake their degree. Academically, you have the opportunity to engage with interesting theoretical and empirical literature and flourish in the field of your choice. At the extra-curricular level, you have the opportunity to exercise the independence you’ve never had before in a plethora of different ways. The professional placement year is an added bonus; an opportunity I advise you take up.

As part of my degree programme, BA Politics, I undertook a placement year working for former Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth MP, in his Parliamentary office. The year I spent in his office, served a number of purposes, which many of my friends who spent time at other organisations on placement also comment on.

First and foremost, the placement year gives you an opportunity to apply the knowledge you have gained in the first two years of your degree programme in a practical context. For instance, the grounding in International Relations (IR) that I had gained in the two years prior had direct application to the papers I produced on the current situation in Afghanistan. The analytical skills you learn serve you well in any position that requires you to process, interpret and present vast swathes of information in a concise and articulate manner.

Just as important as this, the placement year provided me with an opportunity to put the research skills I acquired on my first two years into practice in an office environment. When you’re looking for empirical data, the modules related to research techniques came to fruition, as I was never stumped with options to explore for the right data.

But perhaps most important of all, the placement has served to shape me as a student. I have come back with a renewed energy, a clear focus and a vision for my future plans. As such, I have produced the best academic work of my life and received marks that are, on average, 8-10% higher than my second year. As such, I am working now to graduate with a degree that will be a classification higher than I expected when I left for Parliament in 2010.

I can’t emphasise enough to prospective students or students debating the merits of placement, how useful the placement year has been. It was one of the reasons that attracted me to the Politics programme at Surrey in the first place and with hindsight I recognise that this was a good decision. So, if you are considering a placement and you have an opportunity to work in a professional environment, take it. If my polemic isn’t enough to convince you, bear the following in mind. Increasing numbers of students have good degrees and are competing for a decreasing pool of jobs post-graduation. A year of work in the political field on your CV will help you stand out from that crowd.

You won’t get this opportunity again, so don’t miss out.

Oliver Deed

PTY 2010-11