Work placement

Evilution

Just curious, who thinks that a few months or a year of work placement integrated into the courses at trinity would be beneficial. I have friends who went to DCU and said that the intra placement was great for 3rd year. I was thinking that it would also be a good idea for trinity - to give a bit of real-world experience during the course, even if it was only a month of it or a few hours per week.
What do you all think?

aodh_rua

It's one of these things that comes up every so often. The main problems the College have are with fitting this time into the curriculum - especially in professional courses like engineering, and also the fact that Trinity doesn't see itself as providing vocational training for industry.

Another option would be for departments to work harder to secure internships for summer work. This wouldn't necessarily go towards your marks, but it would be a good way of ensuring people get some relevant experience before graduating.

Evilution

aodh_rua wrote:

It's one of these things that comes up every so often. The main problems the College have are with fitting this time into the curriculum - especially in professional courses like engineering, and also the fact that Trinity doesn't see itself as providing vocational training for industry.

You'd think that'd make them push for work placements, wouldn't you.

PowerPuffGirl

Well why don't you do some work experience during the holidays? You've got four months to play with so you might as well get some proper experience instead of shop work or whatever you would normally do.

That's what I did myself and it really pays dividends at the end of the day for landing the decent jobs in the industry.

Evilution

PowerPuffGirl wrote:

Well why don't you do some work experience during the holidays? You've got four months to play with so you might as well get some proper experience instead of shop work or whatever you would normally do.

That's what I did myself and it really pays dividends at the end of the day for landing the decent jobs in the industry.

Whoaah there. I didn't say that I NEEDED it myself, I've loads of work experience. Just getting an opinion. Relax.

David19

Evilution wrote:

Whoaah there. I didn't say that I NEEDED it myself, I've loads of work experience. Just getting an opinion. Relax.

I think she was just stating her opinion. You need to relax!
Anyway experience is very important for getting a good job so I think that trinity should have a work placement. As powerpuffgirl said the summer holidays are a great time to get the necessary experience. They do advise people to get experience during the summer. Maybe trinity should work harder to get summer work for their students as aodh_rua said.

Evilution

David19 wrote:

I think she was just stating her opinion. You need to relax!
Anyway experience is very important for getting a good job so I think that trinity should have a work placement. As powerpuffgirl said the summer holidays are a great time to get the necessary experience. They do advise people to get experience during the summer. Maybe trinity should work harder to get summer work for their students as aodh_rua said.

Let me just clarify this. I asked originally if people thought that a work-experience module would be beneficial in their courses. Since then I've had people telling me what I should do on my summer holidays and people, like the one above, telling me that no, I'm wrong, she wasn't telling me what to do on my holidays. Sheesh, for some of the smartest students in Ireland, there is a serious bent on some of the people in here.
Let me start over - do you think that work experience would be beneficial AS PART OF THE COURSE and NOT DURING THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS?

I think it should be personally, as part of some of the courses. Courses like BESS wouldn't be too necessary - its very easy to get a business placement, just check out the careers website for the college. But courses like psychology, pharmacy and the science subjects should have some sort of organised placement. Breaking into those industries isn't nearly as easy as breaking into a biz career, methinks.

PowerPuffGirl

Oopsey! Not saying that you personally NEED work experience, I was just speaking in general and from my own experience.

I'm in the Civil Engineering sector myself and I found that the course was packed enough in the four years without trying to squish in work experience in that time.

That's why I think it should be done during the summer! And what else would you be doing anyway unless of course you're the J1 type of person (nothing wrong with it I suppose if you're into that kinda lark)!

Thraktor

Some of the courses actually do have work placement/research modules. If I had stayed in Physics and Chemistry of Advanced Materials, for example, I'd be heading off for a term in JS to do a 3-month research project at some (possibly international) research institute. I think Astrophysics students do one in an observatory too. Work placements can be useful for certain courses (obviously not in my case - mathematics), but I think that, for the most part, Trinity focusses itself on giving as good a theoretical education as possible, and leaving the vocational side of things to when we actually go out there into the world of work. And considering a term spent at a work placement is a term away from lectures, I can't really hold it against them.

sleepingbeauty

I think they kind of already do something like that for science. The lecturers were telling us about some sort of industrial/lab work placement thing you can do for chemistry in 3rd or 4th year (my knowledge on this is VERY limited, since, well i wasnt listening to the talk..me dont wanna do chem!). And I think there is some physics research project thing you do in 4th year off-campus. But for these things I think the places are limited and not for very long.
Hrm sorry started kinda rambling there...yeah it is prob a good idea to have some experience before we go out into the big wide world :eek:

edit: ha seems like we were thinking the same thing there thraktor....oh someone told me one of the observatories for astrophysics is in hawaii..how cool would that be

Nietzschean

Thraktor wrote:

obviously not in my case - mathematics

You could always go teach maths in a school, intern doing something like actuary, cryptology, or a whole host of other things related to the course. Though nothing would be all encompassing and you'd be hard pressed to find something that relates to abstract algebra in a usefull way but...

Agent Smith

I've work placement next year, going to go in in the KERRY DEAF society in kerry, (of all places)...

aodh_rua

PowerPuffGirl wrote:

I'm in the Civil Engineering sector myself and I found that the course was packed enough in the four years without trying to squish in work experience in that time.

What year did you graduate PowerPuff?

Chick

agent smith wrote:

I've work placement next year, going to go in in the KERRY DEAF society in kerry, (of all places)...

ah kerry is great craic lol

Pet

Chick wrote:

ah kerry is great craic lol

YES! Kerry is my spiritual home (also happens to be where both sides of my family are from, I'm a big bogger at heart). Dingle is the best place to be around Christmas, and in Summer too.

Chick

yep been to dingle several times wen i was small

gom

If you want real world experience you should have attended an IT and not a university as Trinity is.
A University education is one positioned deep with in an Academia world.

Real-World Experience is the job market. All you have to do is leave college. Work placement years are a waste of tax payers money. I am completely against them. If you are in 3rd year in a course you are pretty sure you will finish that degree. I can't see a bad experience in the job market make someone drop out of a degree and start again.

University is a place of education not training...

Chick

gom wrote:

University is a place of education not training...

Can it not be both though?

Evilution

Chick wrote:

Can it not be both though?

That would require funding that our beloved :mad: government won't give us. Trinity was well and truely shafted as far as funding was concerned this year. I can only see it getting worse.

John

gom wrote:

University is a place of education not training...

Because training is a total waste of time :rolleyes:

[SARCASM]Think what better doctors and nurses we'd have if we shortened their courses and got rid of the excess weight (work placement) so that they got a proper education.[/SARCASM]*

I think work placements are a damn fine idea (maybe not for courses like English and philosophy) for those who want to work in that field. Doing a research project in 4th sci is all well and good but work placement in a real lab would be very useful. I'm sure going out and looking at real engineering situations would be educational. Business courses are pretty pointless without a knowledge of how real businesses work.

So yeah, universities are only for getting a degree






*edited because the sarcasm wasn't obvious enough

Chick

Evilution wrote:

I can only see it getting worse.

wow ur pessismistic

Evilution

John2 wrote:

Think what better doctors and nurses we'd have if we shortened their courses and got rid of the excess weight (work placement) so that they got a proper education.

Yeah, but they wouldn't be prepared for their jobs then. Surgery takes a certain level of breaking in for people - you can't just give a graduate surgeon a knife and expect him to start opening up a living person no sweat.
I'm all for work placements for medicine degrees. Our hospitals are $hit enough as it is.

Chick

john in all fairness, how am i going to be a better nuse if i DONT go on placement? get real!

Evilution

Chick wrote:

john in all fairness, how am i going to be a better nurse if i DONT go on placement? get real!

Who knows? Just as long as you look hot in that nurses outfit

John

I know that sarcasm doesn't really work with the written word but I thought that most people would get that I was being extremely sarcastic by saying that medicine related courses drop their hands on experience. I'm all for experience.

Chick

Evilution wrote:

Who knows? Just as long as you look hot in that nurses outfit

*sigh*

John

lol, poor chick, degraded daily by the men of boards.ie

ok, I'm finished feeling sorry now

Evilution

Chick wrote:

*sigh*

Cheer up, 'tis the season to be jolly.
I'll get my coat and take my nurses-in-tight-uniforms fantasy elsewhere then.
Never even been in hospital before.

Chick

John2 wrote:

lol, poor chick, degraded daily by the men of boards.ie

Its men in general!!

Evilution wrote:

I'll get my coat and take my nurses-in-tight-uniforms fantasy elsewhere then.
Never even been in hospital before.

Yes, you go do that! go on, get!!

Evilution

Chick wrote:

Its men in general!!

*cough*
/me looks at floor and twitches nervously

John

Evilution wrote:

*cough*
/me looks at floor and twitches nervously

I'd get that cough seen to. By a nurse

Evilution

John2 wrote:

I'd get that cough seen to. By a nurse

As the warner brothers (and warner sister) used to say:


HELLO NURSE

Pet

*sigh*

LOL, there's just no point in fighting it anymore is there; poor, resigned Chick.

Its men in general!!

Surely we're not all that bad? You boob-having types aren't exactly angels either, you know..especially this time of year..ugh, shopping..

Evilution

Pet wrote:

Surely we're not all that bad?

Badness is in the eye of the beholder....apparently

John

Badness? I usually go by the best before date

Chick

Pet wrote:

LOL, there's just no point in fighting it anymore is there; poor, resigned Chick.

No...guess id better get used to it

Pet wrote:

Surely we're not all that bad? You boob-having types aren't exactly angels either, you know..especially this time of year..ugh, shopping..

whats wrong with girls going shopping? at least im not one of the bitches who pushes everyone out of the way so she can get the last size in the top that i wanted. that bitch.

John2

John2 wrote:

I think work placements are a damn fine idea (maybe not for courses like English and philosophy) for those who want to work in that field. Doing a research project in 4th sci is all well and good but work placement in a real lab would be very useful. I'm sure going out and looking at real engineering situations would be educational. Business courses are pretty pointless without a knowledge of how real businesses work.

So yeah, universities are only for getting a degree

Yeah, in UCD in Civil Engineering they go on 6 months placement. I've talked to full time engineers who told me that I won't be using most of what I'm learning now. We went out a few times to the different sites, but it was in groups of 30 or so people - so we didn't learn that much. Generalisation here: for arts type subjects, it wouldn't make much sense - bar drama or other interaction-based subjects.

Anyways, I'm thinking of going off books next year to go on placement for 6 months or so, then go travelling, so I'd be well for placements...

Pet

whats wrong with girls going shopping? at least im not one of the bitches who pushes everyone out of the way so she can get the last size in the top that i wanted. that bitch.

LOL, hate that, you shoulda slapped her. I don't mind girls going shopping, but when they drag ME along it's another story. God almighty, shopping with a woman is a nightmare, I'd pay not to have to do it!

Chick

I'm not really into cat fighting lol, although I coulda kicked her ass... and I really wanted that top for christmas party

Time for the old fork in the eye Chick...

Chick

Lol, how did you know about that!!:eek:

sleepingbeauty

shopping is great though id never bring a guy along, that = disaster

Chick wrote:

whats wrong with girls going shopping? at least im not one of the bitches who pushes everyone out of the way so she can get the last size in the top that i wanted. that bitch. and I really wanted that top for christmas party

ooh thats so annoying, people get so mad over xmas dont they?! the evil side really comes out..and one would totally think it should be the other way around :rolleyes:

ApeXaviour

I wouldn't know, I just sit around drinking.. I'm drinking right now as a matter of fact.

John

ApeXaviour wrote:

I wouldn't know, I just sit around drinking.. I'm drinking right now as a matter of fact.

So am I but whereas I think you're referring to alcohol, I'm just on water

Pet

John2 wrote:

So am I but whereas I think you're referring to alcohol, I'm just on water

Boooh!! That is NOT the spirit of the season, dear. Get some C2H5OH into yourself, stat!

I am also sober, as I am cooking christmas dinner for 2 chefs and a food critic, which amounts to a lot of pressure, but whatever.

Agent Smith

i'm smoking a cigarette, that hard core enough?

Chick

blankcanvas wrote:

shopping is great though id never bring a guy along, that = disaster

You said it girl

Guys have issues with shopping, dont think they see it the way we do!

Shrimp

*cough**cough*american eagal

ApeXaviour

shopping = chore

I buy clothes once a year. I go to unique and pennys only, and the entire escapade is over in under an hour.

Chick

typical guy so!

My friend calls it speed shopping, he knows what he wants to get, he hits the shops and is home and all like 45mins later... thats not shopping!!

snorlax

it all depends what your shopping for and with whom.
shoe shopping is a nightmare, there's just so many of them!

but i love going shopping for food ,especially chocolate or stationary!