A placement year, sometimes called a ‘sandwich’ year or ‘year in industry’, is a year that typically takes place between your second and third year. It consists of an organised work experience that allows you to gain hands-on experience. There are all sorts of different placement opportunities available in the same degree field. For example, in psychology, some people may want to work in a school for children with special needs, whereas others may want to undertake industry work in an office.

But the most important thing in this is – what sort of experience are you hoping to gain during your placement year? What kind of job are you interested in obtaining?

This is why you should get involved in a placement:

• Gaining hands-on experience – work experience that we may take part in during secondary school or sixth form usually lasts no more than a week or two. A placement year allows you to have a whole year of flexibility to gain the experience that you WANT to gain, as well as allowing extra time to learn precise skills whether the placement may be in the local community, in the lab, or industry experience.

• Meet different people – during your placement year, you would be exposed to a range of different people e.g. colleagues from other departments and you might be able to join networking sessions. Working with people outside of university through such networking sessions improves your networking skills which is crucial. For example, in my case, I did my placement year in a community pharmacy, and therefore, I was exposed to different people, e.g., pharmacists, and other dispensers, as well as communicating with doctors from surgeries. Being exposed to different professionals made me strengthen my networking skills.

• Clarify career paths – as life moves so quickly, it may be difficult for us to get clarity on our career paths and that is completely normal. Especially whilst completing our studies during university, our time is mostly used for studying, and therefore, we may only have little time to genuinely think about our career paths and what kind of route we are interested in post graduation. During your placement year, you will have more time to think about what truly interests you in life and what to pursue in the future! For example, in my case, I realised that I am interested in psychiatry and neurology after exposure to patients with different mental health conditions and patients with drug addiction.

• Enhance career skills – a placement year is something that is wonderful to add to your CV and personal statement. It may only be a year but the difference that a year can bring to you is irreplaceable. You could be the one that stands out to your employer as you bring both professional and academic experience (compared to peers, who haven’t completed a placement). Through a placement, you gain key transferable skills such as communication skills, networking, and time management skills.

• Discover the real working world – we all know that being in full-time work is massively different from being in full-time education. Now how different can it be? Well, think of when things start to get serious, when there is money involved, and learning how to communicate well enough with other professionals. A placement year can help you thoroughly understand the field you’re working in, as well as how the reality is compared to your expectations. For example, in my case, as I took my placement year in a community pharmacy and I got exposed to different medications daily, I learned some medications may not be used the same way during practice compared to what we are taught at university.

I have mentioned the benefits of taking a placement year whilst completing your studies at university. Now is the time for YOU to think about what sort of experience you truly want to gain for a whole year. Will you enjoy working in the lab for 4 days a week or will you prefer to have more real-life patient interaction? Regardless, the benefits that a placement year can bring to you are priceless. It is an experience that you will be bringing with you through your third year of university, and even after graduation and stepping into the real world. Only you would be able to remember the experience that you had.

I wish everyone who decides to apply for a placement year the best of luck! Go out there and show the world what you can do. You are much more capable than you think.

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Big thanks to Bobo Chiew, a final year Pharmacology & Physiology Student at the University of Westminster.

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