{"id":14844,"date":"2025-01-10T08:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-10T08:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/?p=14844"},"modified":"2025-01-28T14:16:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:16:47","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m Orla, a final year biology student who has returned from a year long placement in the Science and Technology Facilities Council, UKRI. Read on to learn about why I recommend doing a placement, and how the Department of Biology<\/a> supports you before, during and after your placement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employability support in the Department of Biology<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Biology at York focuses a lot on employability, integrating valuable skills like R studio, science communication and even group work into the courses. There is lots of information available about what previous students have gone on to do, via the <\/span>Bioscience Employability Hub<\/span><\/a> (University of York log in required), Careers and Opportunities weekly newsletters<\/span>, and the Coffee and Careers events which are a great way to ask alumni about their journeys.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The placement year and year in industry<\/a> are highly encouraged by the Department of Biology. They send a large number of students out on placement every year and have done so for years so the process is really streamlined and there is lots of support available.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What help I got to find my placement<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Biology has a Placements Coordinator, who supports students applying for placements. I signed up for their mailing list which shared open positions and general information. At the start of each year, there is a poster session where returning students share posters and presentations about their experiences. This was a really great opportunity to chat to students who have been on placement and get their perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before submitting my applications, I used the CareerSet CV checker and spoke to the Placements Coordinator<\/span><\/span> for feedback and advice on my CVs and cover letters. They also ran a Year Away Mentor Scheme (YAMS), where I was paired with a Stage 3 student who has just returned from placement. My mentor, Harry, was really helpful and generous with his time, even doing a mock interview with me when I got to that stage of my applications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Orla_Mary_hare_tour_HOW.jpg\"
This is me on placement, giving a tour of our facilities to some school students. I loved sharing the research we were doing with the public.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Support during the placement<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you are successful in securing a placement, the Department invites students to access a spreadsheet where you can share the details of your placement. This is a helpful way to contact other students who may be at the same organisation or in the same city<\/span>. So you can reach out to other students to arrange housing together, or just make friends with someone who will be in the same area as you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department regularly checks in with placement students during the year to remind them t<\/span>o contact them if they have any issues<\/span>. You also have at least two scheduled meetings with a supervisor. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a placement has done for my employability prospects<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My placement year was a fantastic way to gain a year of work experience while still having the safety net of the university and the Department. It allowed me to put a lot of skills into practice in a professional environment, like presenting and project management<\/span>. I can a<\/span>lso use the work I did as evidence on my CV and applications for future jobs. It also taught me what sort of environment I want to work in when I graduate.<\/span> And provided an insight into research, which has influenced what I see myself doing in the future. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Here I am giving a presentation at a conference, something I have a lot more confidence doing now.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I met a lot of people on my placement, either at my organisation or at conferences and events. Through speaking to new people, I built my professional network and learned more about roles available within a research environment, which will help me plan my next steps. Going on placement also greatly improved my confidence.<\/span> So when it comes to applying for jobs, I feel comfortable asking for help, and have more faith in my abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to university after placement<\/strong><\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One thing I felt apprehensive about during my placement was returning to university. Unfortunately, it’s one of the downsides of having a positive experience on your placement<\/span>. But the Department made it an easier transition than I expected.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the start of the year, we were invited to have coffee and cake together<\/span>. This was a great way to help returning students reconnect after their year away. I\u2019ve also made more of an effort to get involved with the Department this year<\/span>. I’ve been going to more events, even if I don\u2019t know anyone else there.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding the motivation to do university work after being in a 9 to 5 environment, where I had a manager and was part of a team who kept me on track is hard. To help, I try to go to the Department to do work most days, similar to going into the office. It\u2019s a good way to break up the day and gives me the chance to chat to people, something I miss about being in an office environment. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Orla’s placement year journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My placement in science communication \u2013 an industry I didn\u2019t know existed!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has my placement lived up to my expectations? Not all of them\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning new skills on my SciComm placement<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look back at my science communication placement at STFC<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more blogs from biological sciences students<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m Orla, a final year biology student who has returned from a year long placement in the Science and Technology Facilities Council, UKRI. Read on to learn about why I recommend doing a placement, and how the Department of Biology supports you before, during and after your placement. Employability support in the Department of Biology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,9,868,8,711],"tags":[237,719,83,871,102,720,34,607],"class_list":["post-14844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-biosciences","category-future-focus","category-placement-year","category-study","category-work-placement","tag-employability","tag-industrial-placement","tag-placement","tag-placement-year","tag-work-experience","tag-work-placement","tag-work-placements","tag-year-in-industry","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEverything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Student Voices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/universityofyork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"guestblogger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniofyork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniofyork\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Orla\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"guestblogger\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45f0e1ce91b6f49fda7c2dc09ec1cc0d\"},\"headline\":\"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":919,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"employability\",\"industrial placement\",\"Placement\",\"placement year\",\"work experience\",\"work placement\",\"work placements\",\"Year in industry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Biological Sciences\",\"Jobs and careers\",\"Placement Year\",\"Study\",\"Work placement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\",\"name\":\"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/untitled-design.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/untitled-design.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/\",\"name\":\"Student Voices\",\"description\":\"Get the inside view on student life at York.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of York\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/logo.png?fit=400%2C150&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2018\\\/08\\\/logo.png?fit=400%2C150&ssl=1\",\"width\":400,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"University of York\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/universityofyork\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Uniofyork\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uniofyork\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/45f0e1ce91b6f49fda7c2dc09ec1cc0d\",\"name\":\"guestblogger\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2017\\\/12\\\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg\",\"caption\":\"guestblogger\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.york.ac.uk\\\/student-voices\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/10\\\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices","description":"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices","og_description":"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/","og_site_name":"Student Voices","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/universityofyork\/","article_published_time":"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"guestblogger","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniofyork","twitter_site":"@Uniofyork","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Orla","Estimated reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/"},"author":{"name":"guestblogger","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#\/schema\/person\/45f0e1ce91b6f49fda7c2dc09ec1cc0d"},"headline":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student","datePublished":"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/"},"wordCount":919,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg","keywords":["employability","industrial placement","Placement","placement year","work experience","work placement","work placements","Year in industry"],"articleSection":["Biological Sciences","Jobs and careers","Placement Year","Study","Work placement"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/","name":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student - Student Voices","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design-1024x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-10T08:36:11+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-28T14:16:47+00:00","description":"Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Everything you need to know about doing a placement year as a biology student"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/","name":"Student Voices","description":"Get the inside view on student life at York.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#organization","name":"University of York","url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/logo.png?fit=400%2C150&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/08\/logo.png?fit=400%2C150&ssl=1","width":400,"height":150,"caption":"University of York"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/universityofyork\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Uniofyork","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uniofyork\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/#\/schema\/person\/45f0e1ce91b6f49fda7c2dc09ec1cc0d","name":"guestblogger","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/12\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg","url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/12\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/12\/Guestblogger-profile-picture.jpg","caption":"guestblogger"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Orla","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2025\/01\/10\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-a-placement-year-as-a-biology-student\/"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peJQl8-3Rq","custom_fields":{"item_number":["389809367"],"ap_author_name":["Orla"],"ap_author_url":["She\/her"],"ap_author_email":["of605@york.ac.uk"],"ap_author_avatar":["http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/01\/untitled-design.png"],"ap_author_bio":["I'm a 3rd year Biology student who has returned from a placement year in Science Communication at STFC."],"ap_form_id":["1"],"_edit_lock":["1738074610:199"],"_edit_last":["199"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["90"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["5"],"_pp_is_autodraft":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["placement"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Biology student Orla discusses the best things about her work placement experience and the support available from the department."],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["67"],"_wp_page_template":["default"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14844\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}