Category: Placement Opportunities

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A day in the life of a placement student in cyber security

Hi, I’m Maisie, a computer science student at Newcastle University. Last year I did a placement, working as a researcher at a cyber security company. This is a typical day in my life working remotely at the company.

8:00

I’d usually get up at this time and get ready for the day. My placement was remote so I didn’t have to get up too early!

9:00

At 9am, I’d start work for the day. I’d log on to my VM and Microsoft Teams as well as the other applications I needed for work. I’d then check my email and Teams, to check if I had any meetings that day as well as reply back to any messages.

After this, I would decide on what projects I wanted to work on for the day. I usually had a couple of projects on the go, so would decide on whichever was most urgent or relevant to research I had found. I would get up my code for that project and figure out what needed to be done. I would then write up my to do list for the day with the most important tasks to be completed.

9:30

After setting myself up for a good day, I would then start working. Usually I spent some time researching different libraries and new technologies that we could use to improve a project or solve a particular problem. I would spend some time reading the formal documentation, finding out about the technology, and ensuring it was suitable for projects.

10:30

At this time, I would usually have my morning call with my manager. I would talk through what I had been up to and the research I had found. Then I’d let him know my plans for the day and we’d discuss any new ideas for projects. If needed, he would also help me with any programming problems I had run into the previous day and give suggestions for possible solutions.

Sometimes I would be asked to quickly build small projects for other team members, such as test harnesses for other technologies created by the company. We would talk through the requirements of the program and I would prioritise completing that during the day.

11:00

Next I’d go downstairs and have a quick coffee break and say hello to my dog Ralph.

11:15

At this time, I was most productive after coffee! Usually I would start programming and getting most of my to-do completed for the day. I would try out the new technologies I had researched, using them to solve problems I had with my project.

If I had a project to create for a team member, I might also have a call with them at this time to learn more about the project requirements or to demonstrate how the project worked so far.

1:00

Then it was time for lunch!

2:00

In the afternoon, I would sometimes work on building demonstrations to show how new technologies could be used to benefit the company. This would usually involve building some test code to demonstrate how the technology worked. I would then record it and put together a demonstration video that could be shown to the sales team and higher management.

4:00

If I had time, I liked to end the day cleaning up my code and adding comments to make it more readable for others. This was an easy task to end the day, and would make it easier the next day to pick up from where I had left off.

4:30

I would usually have another quick call with my manager before the end of the day. I would talk through what I had achieved in the day and show him any code or demonstrations I had created. He would also help resolve any programming problems I had during the day.

5:00

The end of the work day, thanks for spending it with me!

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Placement Opportunities with DSTL

Applications are now open for both summer placements and 1-year industrial placements at DSTL (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory). To find out more about the opportunities at DSTL, we interviewed Nic Ingram who has just returned from a year in industry with DSTL to complete his final year at Newcastle University.

Who did you do your placement with? And what does the company do?

I did my placement with DSTL. They sustain and grow science and technology capabilities that must remain in government, and help develop capabilities that are managed elsewhere, for example, in industry and academia.

How did you apply for the placement?

I applied through the Gov.uk website.

What was your favourite part of the placement?

We did some fun hacking events which allowed me to develop useful skills and try something new.

How was the overall experience of doing a placement?

Overall, I really enjoyed the placement and made lots of new friends and contacts, all whilst developing my own personal skills.

Find out more about DSTL placements and apply here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/graduates-students-and-apprentices-at-dstl

If you have any questions about applying for a placement, you can email Nic: n.a.ingram1@newcastle.ac.uk

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Finding a placement with the EDT

Returning from a year in industry with Polygeist, we interviewed Joe Bainbridge to discuss his placement and his experience finding it through the EDT.

Who did you do your placement with? And what does the company do?

I did my placement with a company named Polygeist who specialise in using artificial intelligence in innovative ways.

What was your role in the company?

My job title was ‘technologist intern’ – this was a very broad role as it is a small company with only 5 other people working there. I did work in many different areas of the company, and worked alongside everybody at different points throughout my time there.

How did the EDT help you find your placement and how did you apply?

EDT made the process of finding my placement very easy. I first did an interview with EDT, and with their help, put together a structured CV. EDT then sent me emails whenever a relevant placement opportunity came up. If I was interested, they would send the company my CV, and if successful, I would go through the interview stages.

What work did you do on your placement?

I worked on a variety of projects throughout my time there. This included researching and trying out open source AI projects to both benchmark against our projects, and test for feasibility for future projects. A lot of my projects also revolved around being given a problem or task to do, and going away and completing it using Python.

How did the EDT support you through your placement?

There was a lot of support offered from EDT during my placement, including meetings with my EDT mentor as frequently (or infrequently) as I wanted. On top of this, there were also many workshops offered, which aimed to improve a number of key skills such as communication and management.

How was the overall experience of doing a placement?

Overall, I really enjoyed my placement. It was invaluable experience being in a workplace environment and it has given me more confidence for going into a job after university. Additionally, I picked up and worked on many skills, such as teamwork and new programming skills, which will benefit me both at university and when entering the job market.

What would you say to someone considering doing a placement?

I would say not to worry about getting a placement straight away as I got mine at the end of July, and to make sure you do something that you’re interested in and will find enjoyable.

The EDT Placement Scheme is ideal for students looking for paid placements lasting between 10-12 months in computing, science, engineering, business, marketing and finance.

Applications are now open for the placement year 23/24:

https://www.etrust.org.uk/yini-register

They also have online open day events to find out more about the EDT placement scheme. The next event is on Wednesday 18th January 2023 and you can register here:

https://www.etrust.org.uk/yini-careers-events

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Placement Insights from Newcastle Strategic Solutions Limited 

Returning from a year in industry to complete their final year at Newcastle University, we interviewed Zach Smith about their time with Newcastle Strategic Solutions Limited. This is what they had to say:

Find Out More About Newcastle Strategic Solutions

Who did you do your industrial placement with?  

Newcastle Strategic Solutions Limited 

What was your role?  

Software QA Tester 

Why did you do a placement?  

I did a placement in order to gain some concrete work experience in the software development industry, this is so I could hopefully gain an advantage over my competition when applying for jobs upon graduation 

When did you start applying and how many places did you apply for?  

I started applying around February/March time and applied for at most 20 people 

How was the application experience?  

Relatively straightforward, mostly just making sure my CV was up to date. I wrote a cover letter for each company I applied for and tweaked my CV in scenarios where different experiences might’ve been more useful 

What, if any, help did you get from the university when applying?  

The help I received from the university was mostly to do with their careers site, where companies could post placement opportunities. It was a huge help and ultimately lead me to get this placement 

What work did you do over the course of your placement year?  

I got the opportunity to do a range of things: 

  • Programming automated tests for builds of NSSLs websites which introduced new features. 
  • Testing on live servers of clients to ensure that everything was working as expected before deploying for the public to see and use.  
  • I also had the opportunity to manually test features on the website to ensure that they met the accessibility criteria required. 
  •  I was working alongside teammates in a scrum team and would test whatever the developers would work on before giving it the seal of approval. 

How was the overall experience of doing a placement?  

Fantastic, I was treated really well during my time at NSSL, except for the odd stressful moment, I enjoyed it. One key value that I really appreciated working there was that my input was important and was truly taken into consideration when working on different projects even when it wasn’t about testing. I made a lot of new friends there during the early talent program that they ran too.  

My experience here helped dictate what portion of computer science I would like to specialize in for my final year. Thanks to my time testing the accessibility of the website and new software developed, it has made me want to work in accessibility and hopefully work to improve how accessible software is to the general public. 

Would you like to go back to that company after your final year?  

Based on my experience? Yes.  

With my current circumstances? No, I only say this because following graduation I’d prefer to be employed somewhere where I can live with my family whilst working for a while before I go settle in somewhere like Newcastle. To be honest though, if I was offered a high enough wage to cover the expenses of living alone easily then I probably would take something from NSSL. 

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Placement Insights from Matillion

Returning from a year in industry to complete their final year at Newcastle University, we interviewed Amy Jones about their time with Matillon. This is what they had to say:

Who did your industrial placement with? 

My placement was with Matillion which is a data transformation/cloud data warehouse provider. It’s based in Manchester but has offices in a few places around the world. 

What was your role? 

Security Engineer Placement Student. 

I worked in the IT and Security department across the Application Security and Cloud Security sub-functions.  

Why did you do a placement? 

I felt that getting some work experience under my belt would stand me in good stead when it came to applying for graduate positions because I would already know what to expect and I would be able to talk about what I’d done during interviews which hopefully would give me an advantage. Also, I felt that it would be easier for me to go into a graduate role if I had some time to get used to the work environment and already had a go at a security position while it was known to the company that I was still learning. 

When did you start applying and how many places did you apply for? 

I started applying at the start of the academic year and probably applied to 10 to 15 places. If I hadn’t heard back from Matillion in December, then I would have probably applied to more. 

How was the application experience? 

The application experience for Matillion was quite pain-free, you uploaded your CV and answered a couple of short essay questions and then after one interview with the CISO and GRC team lead, I was offered the position.  

However, a couple of others I applied for were a bit of a longer, more complicated process. I did a lot of assessments during the early stages of application processes that were meant to gauge your soft skills and how your brain works, I did some coding tests, and some had video interviews before real interviews. Each company will be different. 

What, if any, help did you get from the university when applying? 

I applied during a year we were fully online, so I didn’t have as much exposure to the help as in normal years, however, I did read up on the placement advice on the website. 

What work did you do over the course of your placement year? 

Since Matillion’s security team is still fairly small, I had the chance to do a lot of varied work and get dug in straight away. Most of my time was spent on application security looking at things like threat modelling, ASVS, and DAST solutions. I got to know Burp Suite and OWASP ZAP really well as I explored vulnerability scanning and exploits with them. I was responsible for daily and monthly cloud security checks which gave me exposure to AWS. Throughout my placement I was able to become Matillion certified, set up and run a CTF for our team of security champions, be a Women in Tech champion, run a charity bake sale that raised over 500 pounds across Denver and Altrincham and set up and organise our security guild. I even presented a guild session on TLS and PKI.  

How was the overall experience of doing a placement? 

I absolutely loved my placement, if you are considering doing a placement year, I would highly recommend it. It helped that I had an amazing company to work for and awesome co-workers and line manager, but wherever you end up I think a year in the industry actually trying your hand at what you’ll experience once your degree is done is a fantastic way to boost your skills and stand out amongst graduate applicants. It lessened my worries about going into employment after university and it has set me up with fantastic connections for when I finish. 

Would you like to go back to that company after your final year? 

I would definitely love to go back to Matillion at some point in my career, whether that’s when I graduate or later down the line after a few years in a graduate cyber security role, I’m not quite sure yet. I would strongly recommend Matillion to anyone looking for a tech role though, they’re an incredible company that cares about every staff member and they offer remote or in-person work. Hopefully, I will get to return to Matillion eventually.