IS IT WORTH TO CHOOSE A PROGRAM WITH PLACEMENT YEAR OR NOT?
Bhavin Bhavsar
20 Years in SEO, Digital & Influencer Marketing | Founder of STM Community | Digital Nomad | Award-Winning Travel Blogger
A placement year, or a sandwich course, takes place during your third year of university and contributes towards your degree. A placement may be required for certain courses or chosen as an alternative for others. A placement's purpose is to provide students a true knowledge of a specific sector and to provide them with an extensive period of real-world job experience, enabling them to learn a variety of useful skills for the future.
Are you unsure about whether or not you should seek a degree that requires work experience? Here are our top reasons for doing a job placement to help you decide:
Gathering Experience
A placement is an excellent way to obtain hands-on experience in your chosen field. In the best-case example, your placement will affirm that this is the right profession for you and will encourage you to work hard and pursue a position in this area – yay! Worst case scenario, the placement reveals that you aren't as well-suited to the position as you had assumed. This is perfectly acceptable, and this situation should not be seen negatively. This is not a waste of time; in fact, you have done yourself a favor by giving yourself some time to explore other job opportunities before graduation, and you will certainly have acquired many transferable skills for your next job.
Prospects for Academic Success
Your academic opportunities are expected to increase as a result of your placement year, as you will start your final year with a far stronger skill set than before. Your increased written and verbal communication abilities will help you stay on track with your deadlines in your reports and tasks, while your overall organizational and time-management skills will help you stay on track with your deadlines. Often students chose to use their placement year as the base for their final year dissertation or to finish a thesis or inquiry that can be used to gain credit for their degree.
Reduce the Transition Shock from Study to Work
Gone are the days where you might wake up to classes hungover and in joggers, regularly napping and enjoying OTT shows in the afternoons. Doing a placement year will help you get into the 9-5 habit and make the transition to a professional working life smoother after you graduate, making things feel less daunting. Developing the habit of waking up early on a daily basis can support you in third year, when you'll be swamped by deadlines and dissertation work.
Recognizing your Strengths and Weaknesses
Every person has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Playing to your strengths and working around your shortcomings would be beneficial. Work experience helps you to assess the condition and determine when you need to improve. When you're getting your work experience as part of a vocational training, for example, you'll be able to come back to class with questions for your teacher depending on what you've learned on the job. It helps you to grasp what you need to learn and then ask your expert trainer questions.
Consulting with Experts on your Job Opportunities
Placement experience helps you to speak to people who have worked in the industry for a long time and know what there is to know about it. Where else can you immerse yourself in the action and develop a deeper understanding of your chosen industry?
Demonstrating your Interest and Passion
Placement experience tells a prospective employer that you are excited about the job and decreases the likelihood of them rejecting you because you understand the position. It demonstrates that you are sufficiently inspired to work in your chosen profession and learn firsthand what it entails.
Opportunity to Find Work
Having a placement year on your CV would certainly set you apart from other graduates and improve your employability by providing you with something to speak about in interviews. Many students leave university with little to no applicable job experience, so being able to state that you worked for a year would demonstrate to employers that you are well-versed in the field you choose to work in and will put you in good stead. If you really please the company where you're working, they may even make you a firm job offer after you graduate! Depending on the business, you will have the opportunity to network with a wide range of employers, giving you a better understanding of what's out there in the job market.
Since the job market is so competitive, it's crucial to differentiate yourself from other graduates. Job experience on your CV is a brilliant way to do this! Completing a job placement successfully will give employers a better understanding of the skills you learned through your degree. Sometimes the employers support students with work placements by offering them permanent positions. Even if you aren't given a permanent position, you would most likely have useful connections that will provide you with a referral or even direct you to other appropriate roles. In any case, opting for a program with a placement year would improve the employability substantially!
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