Aavash Subedi

Name: Aavash Subedi
Course: Physics
Year of Study: First year
Graduation Year: 2024

What work experience did you do?

Electrical Engineering work experience with The University of Manchester on a research project.

What was it that inspired you to look for work experience?

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I had not had much chance to get into a lab and do a lot of collaborative work with my peers, so I thought a research placement would be perfect to compensate for this and it would look impressive on my CV.

Why did you choose to do work experience in this area?

I have always been interested in academia and helping contribute to it, I also wanted to get hands-on experience on what it means to be a researcher so that I can better inform my life decisions.

Give a brief snapshot of your role:

  • Self-taught myself Python.
  • Researched various python modules that are available that I can use to build my own programming package
  • Developed and published a python package that can find the magnetic field of a certain setup that is produced in a drawing package.

How did the Bursary award support you in gaining experience?

Due to some issues with my payment, I was a month behind on receiving it, the Bursary award helped me to secure and pay for my accommodation while I was in the role.

What were the most enjoyable aspects of your role?

I really enjoyed being able to have constructive conversations with my two managers who helped guide me towards building the package.

What were the challenges?

I realised early on into the internship that not only my programming skills were lacking, but the fundamental physical understanding also that was required was not up to the level it needed to be. Learning all the necessary programming skills as well as grasping the physics side of things was a challenge.

Did you have any worries or concerns before your work experience and if so how were they dealt with and overcome?

I was mostly worried about how the work experience would look like given current restrictions. Equally, how that would affect my ability to network with fellow students on the program and peers on the research group but that was a non-issue due to the weekly catch-up and soft skills training provided by the careers team, which I must add was very informative and fun to attend.

What specific or transferable skills did you develop through the work experience?

Programming skills as well as soft skills such as communication and documentation that I acquired from the weekly sessions.

Did the work experience give you any insights and have these influenced your career pathway?

The work experience was an insight into the world of academia and research. I am more actively considering it as a viable option for me, although I am still keen to know how it functions without the pandemic and the social aspects of it.

Do you have any words of wisdom for future students looking to gain work experience?

It takes a lot of rejected applications to finally find a placement so it’s normal if you keep getting a negative response, however as long as you persevere then you will find something. Also, be open-minded to the type of work experience itself as you might find jobs that you didn’t think you would like and university is a good time to “test the waters” and find out what would be a good fit for you.