Two weeks off school is exciting for any student but work experience is when they meet the world of jobs, coworkers and supervisors. Work experience placements can vary from working in a local shop to even going overseas. However, can these two weeks be beneficial or just a nuisance to the student?
One advantage of work experience is that you are placed out of your comfort zone. This allows you to get away from the familiarity of your friends, the school environment and knowing what you’re doing. It teaches you to adapt to the area around you which is a vital skill for life. You are away from your friends which strengthens your independence and allows you to communicate better with strangers. The school environment can be replaced with a whole new area where you can explore around you and try out new things. In school, you have a timetable and the knowledge of knowing what you’re doing and where you’re supposed to be. On work experience, it can be the opposite. At first, you could be confused on what to do on your placement, however, over time, you understand.
A disadvantage could be if you are given a placement that has nothing to do with what you’re interested in for the future. This is when the two weeks can feel like a waste of time. I felt this during my work experience and I, surprisingly, wanted to go back to school. My placement was given to me and was at a nursery. Although knowing I would never want to work with children, I found out how the nursery ran and what the employees were like. I learned about the different skills you needed to succeed in my placement, the most important being patience.
Overall, work experience can be worth it if you find a placement that suits your interests as it can be valuable for your future. However, if you don’t, it’s still good to see what it would be like to have a real job.
