Student name: Suryansh Singh
Company name: Andor Technology (Under Oxford Instruments)
Role: Software Engineering Placement Student
Why did you decide to do a placement?
There were two main reasons that led me to do a placement: I want to be job ready as soon as I graduate and having this placement experience will have help me significantly in that.
My parents were able to finance the fees for my first two years at university. I want to use the salary from my placement to contribute to my final year of fees.
What does your placement involve? What are your role responsibilities?
My placement involves a wide range of tasks that a software engineer does. I am working with the main software development team, and my role is no different than the other developers. As an Intern I do need guidance sometimes, but the team are always on hand to help with any issues.
I get assigned several tasks at the start of every sprint (a development run of 2 weeks) and then try to resolve all those tasks as quickly as possible. Once the development is done, I test my code on real devices in the lab – some of them are used by NASA and Nobel prize-winning scientists, etc.
Do you have any advice to students who are looking for / applying for a placement?
- Start applying as soon as vacancies are open and apply to several placements to increase your chances, especially if you’re relying on the placement to finance your studies.
- Develop your computing CV through activities such as answering questions on Leetcode, increasing your proficiency in version control, and creating projects you can talk about at interview.
- Companies love hearing interns talk about AGILE methodologues and DevOps, so make sure to have a basic knowledge of them.
- Smile during your interview!
You might get rejected during the application process, even from the online assessments but all you must do is learn from your mistakes, master these things, and move forward. I remember I got rejected from the first 20-30 applications I made but after a while I was clearing all the online assessments, had 3-4 interviews, and secured 2 offers. So, don’t let rejections demotivate you!
What support have you had from the university before and during your placement?
Newcastle University has been very helpful in terms of career support. Before the placement I completed 3 or 4 NCL Internships offered by the university and that really made my CV and profile look good. The MyCareer website lists tons of internships and tools and there is the ability to book CV counselling.
The support from the placement team through email has also been amazing. I emailed them with lots of questions and they dealt with all of them kindly.
What benefits will your placement have on your studies?
Before starting the placement, I was considering what my final year project would be. I was a bit concerned about what I would be able to create as I didn’t feel confident in my coding skills. But after completing the first 4 months of my placement, I now feel so much more confident in my skills.
I’m feeling really motivated about going forward into my last year at university as I’ll be able to use everything I’ve learnt during my placement in my final year project and other assignments.
