My experience of and advice about placements

During my time here at UON, I’ve been on placements, both on my previous course and current course. Placements, in my opinion, are one of the most useful things you will do, as sometimes you will learn something that you won’t have learnt in the classroom, irrespective of where and what you are doing.

My experience

I have completed two multi-week placements and whilst they were very different experiences, I learnt something from both and they were useful enough for me to develop my own skills (including problem solving, communication, teamwork, and digital skills). My first placement was a challenge as I wasn’t enjoying it and thought I couldn’t do it, however, it did give me the confidence to try and change that. However, I knew that the course (Occupational Therapy) wasn’t for me because I realised I couldn’t handle that environment.

Despite this, I did however learn something important – perseverance; I knew I had to do it and so just worked through. I learnt some valuable skills on this placement, sometimes you just need to go through tricky periods to truly develop certain personal skills.

My placement for my new course (Multimedia Sports Journalism) was something I was more interested in, and I developed journalistic skills I may not have done otherwise. I was so glad to have gone on my journalism placement as I really enjoyed being a part of the team, which definitely helped me.

My Advice

Before going out on placement, you need to work out which skills you hope to develop, where you think you will gain the best experience, but also choose somewhere suitable for you, as this will help push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Taking the initiative when you are on the placement is easier said than done, but make sure you do enough that you’ll be missed by the team once it is finished! Being able to get involved and show you care enough will make them want to help you to develop your skillset further.

If you have the opportunity to have a placement or work experience, whether that is for a week, a month, the summer or a year, take it. Quite simply, take the opportunities when they come!

Find out more about the opportunities we offer at UON by visiting an Open Day.

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Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly is a Multimedia Sports Journalism student, he enjoys reading, writing, learning and travelling. He also quite enjoys a hot cup of tea.