Placement

Over the last twelve months I have been working full time at Bournemouth University to satisfy the work placement requirement of my BSc sandwich degree in Music and Audio Technology that I am studying at Bournemouth University.

After searching long and hard for a placement and over a hundred email I decided to apply to the placement offered by Bournemouth University. This was not my first choice however it was a real struggle to find a placement let alone one that was paid. Previously I had been offered a placement by however this was unpaid and required a lot lot of traveling and was not really a viable option for me. The technician job offered had lot of others applying as many others in the same situation were also struggling. I was offered an interview as a result of experience working in a computer repair shop for almost two years prior to starting university.

The interview was relaxed however I was asked a lot about my past experience and my knowledge of Mac’s and audio hardware. Along with many questions about technology in general and my practical skills such as soldering.

To my joy I was offered the position, having shown a good knowledge of the field and a genuine interest in the music technology field. Upon starting my I had a week long crossover with the previous technician to learn about the tasks required on the job. Three hours a day were spent running the tech store, this is where students from music technology and games technology can rent out equipment such as cameras, microphones, graphics tablets and many other things. Other time was spent doing repairs on equipment, maintaining lab machines and studio equipment, building cables and anything else to aid the running of the creative technology department.

The job gave me a good insight into how a course like my own is run, how a studio is run and maintained, and offered lots of challenges in fixing hardware and software issues. During the placement I feel I improved a lot, in my organisational, communication and technical skills. I really enjoyed the year I spent working at the university and I am looking forward to completing my final year at Bournemouth and feel my placement year has helped me prepare for it.