Why is a Placement Year Important?

If you’re not sure what a placement year is, it is where you take out a year between your 2nd year and final year to work. Many different universities now offer 4 year undergraduate degrees including a placement year across a number of courses. At Newcastle University (which is where I go) most of the courses within our Business School now have the option to opt in for a 4 year course rather than the regular 3 years. I’m also pretty sure you can just choose to take a ‘gap year’ as a placement between your second and final year, but if in doubt try talking to your tutor or careers service on campus.

Benefits of a Placement:

Real applicable experience to go alongside your degree

Unlike the theory you learn within your degree, having a placement means you’ve got actual experience to add to your CV. In a world where companies ask for 40 years of experience from a 20 year old, this is really helpful for when you graduate. Having experience is also vital in general and often this experience can help build up your coursework in final year.

Find out what you like… Or don’t like

Being able to work for a whole year means you can find out what kind of work you like and dislike. With a placement, you can spend your final year of university focusing on getting a job with the tasks that you enjoy most. For example, I realised this year that I really like PR, so next year I’m going to try and improve my skills in copywriting, network with press and keep and eye out for PR focused graduate roles.

Make your CV stand out

Because placement opportunities are so competitive, you having that on your CV will make you stand out from other applicants. I applied for so many companies and had 14 interviews/assessment centres before even getting my placement. Which really shows you how persistent you need to be to just get the job. Imagine how many more people are going to be going for actual full time jobs once you graduate?

Networking

I don’t know about you, but people are constantly telling me that networking is so important for your career. And it is true to and extent, you network could let you know about opportunities, recommend you for them, and help you get a role after graduating. Spending your placement year creating meaningful connections with your colleagues and external people to the company, you can help give yourself a step up after university.

Building skills you can only gain while working

There is only so much your degree and textbooks can teach you. Skills such as workplace professionalism and gaining knowledge of your industry are something that comes with actually working within your industry. Working also allows you to become more independent and learn to be proactive with tasks, and reactive to problems that arise.

Help with university

Most students who take a placement year do extremely well in their final year of university. After working for a year, university will most likely seem a lot easier. You’ll be going from a 9-5 job to 20 contact hours a week, and your body clock will be ready to go every morning. You will also have so much practical experience that you can use within your theoretical essays and reports.