The opportunity to do something completely different, that both added to my CV and was paid work was enticing. My placement also involved something I love - football!
Career Connect
I sent an email through explaining why I was interested, and why I thought I would be ideal for the role. Within a few days my future line manager got back to me to arrange an informal interview.
I had to collect more data for the study; this primarily involved researching, contacting, and then meeting individuals who had extensive program collections, which I would then take pictures of.
There was no typical day; often I'd send a few emails to individuals that looked promising, and then complete a host of other tasks; such as transcribing interviews,
The opportunity to learn and understand more about the history of something I love; the variety; the responsibility and flexible nature of the placement.
Balancing placement responsibilities alongside academic work is tough, and requires self motivation. Reaching out to people and asking them to volunteer their time for free is also difficult, and requires some patience.
Not directly, though it will most likely influence my choice of dissertation through the opening up of further research questions.
An OnCampUS Placement works really well alongside your current studies. I'd recommend giving them a go even if you're not sure - the opportunity to see a different side of the academic world (i.e. how research is conducted) is fascinating, and really rather inspiring.
Form completed: 05 Jul 2017