Advice for Finding a Placement

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Further resources can be found on the Career Zone website.

We asked PTY students from previous years to give their top tips! Here is what they had to say.

"Email as many people as you can! I got so many rejections/so many people didn't reply. I just kept emailing and emailing until I have a choice of 3 or 4 🙂"

"Unless you are applying for a competitive or paid project, most supervisors will be keen to take you on. Use this advantage to find out about the potential issues you may face in the project. You can email the supervisor to ask them questions such as how much supervision you will get, who you will be working with, and what challenges they expect you may encounter."

"If going to a uni, get involved in everything in different labs, not just your own project- you learn so much from world leading experts (and that is how I managed to get my name on 3 papers and not just 1). AND stay on top of your PTY report, a lot of people left it till September of final year.... when you have a lot of better things to spend time on."

"Once you start your placement, have a discussion with your supervisor(s) about what aspects of the research you can get involved in and remember that there will be many other projects happening in your group - you don't have to limit yourself to just working on the project that is formally yours. Equally, make sure you have enough capacity to complete your work before offering to help someone else - you don't want to appear unprofessional by committing to something and then not having the time to do it."

"I'd recommend anyone to do a PTY, even if you're considering post-graduate medicine; the skills you gain will help you even within a clinical role."

"Do not leave your report until last minute, I recommend ensuring it is completed by the end of summer……it is not fun having to complete your report and start final year at the same time!"

Have some PTY advice you would like to share? You can find our contact information on the About Us page!