Work Experience

DaveDublin

Post stuff about your work experience here so we know where to go and where not to

Twinkle-star15

I was in the Belltable in Limerick and it was brilliant!!! But I know a few people who were in the HMV on Cruises' Street and said it was basically slave labour and hated it. Don't know if that's just that one or the whole chain, but I don't think I'll be applying there!

sternn

Worked in microsoft in sandyford for a week, and also in pricewaterhousecoopers in town (accountancy firm).

Microsoft was amazing, got to play Age of empires 3 months before it was released (this was 2 years ago). Also other games, and got a cuple of xbox games as a going away pressie. Also, the hot chocolate in star bucks (yes, they have thier own one in the building) was amazing!!

Pricewaterhouse was a bit tedious. Had to do stupid computer work, writing up invoices, i was even allowed to sign off on cheques!! It was easy work but quite boring. I never actually got to work with an accountant, only in the accounts department (day to day running of the firm). Altho i did get a nice healthy 200 euro for my week's work!

originalcupcake

i went to a fashion designer...good experience, but secided it wasnt really for me in th end...:)

Piste

sternn wrote:

Pricewaterhouse was a bit tedious. Had to do stupid computer work, writing up invoices, i was even allowed to sign off on cheques!! It was easy work but quite boring. I never actually got to work with an accountant, only in the accounts department (day to day running of the firm). Altho i did get a nice healthy 200 euro for my week's work!

Haha did you honestly expect an ACCOUNTANCY firm to be EXCITING?!:p

philologos

He was most likely expecting to see the kind of work the accountant did, but I suppose the accounts in private limited companies are legally confidential, so thats most likely why he didn't get to see the work. Some people find accountancy exciting, don't knock it Piste (although I don't some may do)

sternn

#Elites wrote:

By any chance, while you where doing the Age Of Empires stuff, meet a guy working there called Julian? a french/irish guy?

i also worked in the microsoft game studios and thought it was really interesting, everyone was really sound:D

back to MS for the last week i think, i think it was the Office/Windows Live teams i was told..cant remember..must email them again=/

I was actually based in the language changing part of the offices, but 2 of the days i got to go to product development.
Can't say I remember someone called Julian. I was with someone called Alan... oh and also got to try out the x-box 360 live, before it was out aswell!!

Piste wrote:

Haha did you honestly expect an ACCOUNTANCY firm to be EXCITING?!:p

I didnt obviously expect it to be interesting, i just wanted to see how an accountant worked. However, i wasnt able to do that for some reason...so i was stuck writing up invoices and cheques in the "Accounts Department" which is ironic because i got to see none of the stuff i origionally wanted to see...

cork*girl

i went to ann summers for 1week and to the veritas 4 another week

SligoBrewer

cork*girl wrote:

i went to ann summers for 1week and to the veritas 4 another week

most contrasting one by far:D

rannerap

i was in Sunday world for two weeks.not too bad.Didn't really do anything other than go to the shop for coffee and shred stuff.got paid 80 yo yos at the end of it though:D

Conor108

Hey peeps, on the off chance that someone actually uses this forum, i have a question:D When do you actually do the work experience? like is it the same dates each year?

qwertplaywert

your school decides

Conor108

Oh well they never told us, ah well I'll organise something I guess

Jello

Conor108 wrote:

Oh well they never told us, ah well I'll organise something I guess

If they didn't tell yis it probably won't be 'till later on in the year. Like mine was in October + November so they told us that in May so we could organise it over the Summer. So yours may be around March so your school will give you info and that in September...

RetroRainbow

Went to Pro Musica for two weeks.
Wasn't bad, got a bit bored sorting out chord books all the time, though...

Acid_Violet

RetroRainbow wrote:

Went to Pro Musica for two weeks.
Wasn't bad, got a bit bored sorting out chord books all the time, though...

Pro Musica? Do tell.

I did my first week in Occupational Therapy in different places in Dublin. Most of the time I was sitting around doing nothing, I did/saw maybe 6 or 7 OT related things. Even though I learned a lot about what it entails I was dealing with an aspect of it that I wouldn't really be interested in, it was a bit futile tbh.

For the second week I worked in the cafe in Avoca on Suffolk street. I wanted to get a job waitressing over the Summer and this would've been a way to get experience for me. The people were really nice and I got free food and tbh I really enjoyed being busy and running around the cafe doing things! Plus I gots a €75 gift voucher for Avoca, not as impressive as some as the other stuff I've read on this thread but nice none the less.

qwertplaywert

hi.im doing ty from september and was wondering:did anyone do work experience in a music store? did you enjoy the experience?
also applies to somewhere like xtravision

jb91

qwertplaywert wrote:

did anyone do anyone in a music store? did you enjoy the experience?

:eek: Maybe yyou should change that :rolleyes:

Jello

LOL


Yeah my friend did it in Tower Records. He said it was allright.. he mostly packaged and priced CDs and DVDs and stocked the shelves, etc... but was subjected to some emo girl playing her ****ty CDs all day.

SligoBrewer

Jello wrote:

If they didn't tell yis it probably won't be 'till later on in the year. Like mine was in October + November so they told us that in May so we could organise it over the Summer. So yours may be around March so your school will give you info and that in September...

i organized mine like 2 weeks before hand..

mayb its harder in the big shmoke tho..

also lads, lassies.. id advise ye all to do type for your work experience.. best week of ty ever!:D

http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/outreach/TYPE/

JSK 252

In my school work experience was 1 day a week for the entire school year. Monday to thursday was school:D .

From September to December I was working in the department of microbiology in UCC which I found really interesting but boring after a while as I already experienced this faculty as I did my Young Scientist project in their labs in 2005.

I tried to get another work placment in the scientific field but failed in doing so, so I ended up taking a few fridays off.

In May I spent a whole week (week off school:D ) in GlaxoSmithKline's pharmaceutical manufacturing operations plant in Cork ( Where else could it be? Cork is the place to be biy!:D ) where I got to see the quality control labs, the microbiology labs, research and development labs, technical development labs and physical and chemical properties lab. I found it to be very beneficial as I always was considering a career in pharmacy and the week there justified that. I also got free meals there for the week as I was a guest and all my food was charged to the respective cards of the labs I was in:D .

qwertplaywert

i want to get work in a place without a uniform .......thats the main aim

maybe library, my friend did it last year, said it was good and easy enough

Conor108

Ahhhh! Microsoft won't take TY students and now I need something to do. Any suggestions? Something computer-y I'm thinking! Now...suggest!

highlydebased

Computer consultancy company/web design company/etc

#Elites

#Elites wrote:

You want to work in a Library?

or do you jus want the few weeks doss?

go somewhere where you accauly want to end up!

Theres savage money to be made as a librarian.

qwertplaywert

hahahaaha
nah trying to rack me mind where I could work in Dundalk and kept on part time

Conor108

Do Dell take TY kiddos? And whats their bloody email? All I can find is email addresses for sales and technical support. And what experience can you do in Trinity?

Conor108

Wow yeah that would be deadly if you could PM me that:eek:

jb91

I'm into media etc and I just got the dates today. I'm going to apply to RTE, TV3, East Coast FM etc etc.

Duno if I stand a chance at getting in but its worth a shot.

macroman

I didn't do a conventional Work Experience...travelled 2 1/2 hours every morning to Wickla everymorning from Northside of Dublin to stand around doing nothing in a garage halfway up the Sugarloaf - Good times

Mates did theirs at Tower Records, Waltons, and Gamestop - basically any shops will take you on provided you give them notice and don't expect to get paid

Conor108

Hmm getting a little bit desperate now, I need to have my form in on the 21st (W/Es not til the 15th)

Emailed Ionet, Microsoft, Google with no joy. I'll email Dell now and can yuo do w/e at Trinity?

cuppcakes!

Any ideas on where to go for work exp if interested in medicine??
Applied to a few old folks' homes, none have replied bar one to tell me they couldn't take me.
Am thinkin the health board centre but I dunno if they'd take me.
Our school seems to have insurance problems with hospitals so can't go there.
Really stuck tbh! Any ideas would be great..

jb91

cuppcakes! wrote:

Any ideas on where to go for work exp if interested in medicine??
Applied to a few old folks' homes, none have replied bar one to tell me they couldn't take me.
Am thinkin the health board centre but I dunno if they'd take me.
Our school seems to have insurance problems with hospitals so can't go there.
Really stuck tbh! Any ideas would be great..

A Pharmacy?

cuppcakes!

jb91 wrote:

A Pharmacy?

Yeahh I might if I don't get anywhere else just I wanted to get the whole hospital atmosphere and that..
Like a pharmacy is more of a shop like.. And I dunno if I'd be allowed handle prescriptions..
It's worth a try though.

highlydebased

I should start looking for work experience soon, we have to have forms handed back to co-ordanators by First week in October.

Anyone advise how I may obtain it? Sending a CV to a few places? Or calling into them?

garthv

Best job would be to call the places you want to work,

Sending in a CV would make them think you want a full-time job, not just work experience!

challengemaster

this really is a piece of piss to do. simply phone up the place in question (you dont need a CV.. jesus, its for work experience, not to employ you full time )

just phone up the place where you'd like to go, ask to speak with whoever is in charge/high up and ask are they taking people on for work experience. if so, ask would they mind if they took you on if they have space. most places wont say no because they wont get a good rep then.

gl

Jello

Neon-Circles wrote:

I should start looking for work experience soon, we have to have forms handed back to co-ordanators by First week in October.

Anyone advise how I may obtain it? Sending a CV to a few places? Or calling into them?

The best thing would be to email them, ring them up or call in and talk to them face to face. Just sound really interested in whatever the company does.

qwertplaywert

And of course present yourself well if asking in person

Conor108

Argh! I am now in desperate city! I have to hand in my form on the 21st and am going away on a school trip on wednesday so I won't be back until the 21st! That means I've 4 days to organize my work experience! 2 of them weekends! Anyone know of something IT? I've emailed like 5 places and gotten rejections or nothing back:mad:

barry181091

I'm thinking of doing work experiece with a local solicitor , If i can ?

D'You think that would be possible ?

Barry.

spurious

Conor108 wrote:

Argh! I am now in desperate city! I have to hand in my form on the 21st and am going away on a school trip on wednesday so I won't be back until the 21st! That means I've 4 days to organize my work experience! 2 of them weekends! Anyone know of something IT? I've emailed like 5 places and gotten rejections or nothing back:mad:

Don't email - call in. Looking for the Work Experience position is part of the learning process - you're not supposed to do it by email from home.
It's very easy say no to an email request, not so easy if you have a chirpy teenage face in front of you.

kronnn

Ok I am in TY and want to get a work experience in Google. Does anybody have any useful contacts or know the best way to contact them about this.

highlydebased

Write to them, call into them, ring them, email them

Say you're a TY student in X school, say you do work experience, interest in IT, offer them a CV.

Conor108

They didn't even email me back! :mad:

highlydebased

The problem is with email they can "pretend" they didnt get it.

Ringing or calling in is best option IMHO.

Gavin "shels"

Give them a ring and don't really mention about the e-mail, otherwise they might just say they'll reply tomorrow;)

yeah-boy

In our school we do work experience twice ... each lasting 3 weeks.

Did my first one in a local Community Centre where I played pool basically and helped out with the various other clubs. Hours were 2-6 most days monitoring the leisure room ha.

Did my second with 3 others in my class. We went to all the hotels looking for a job as we hadnt organized work experience as this was the wednesday and were due to start on the Monday.

Anyway we did promoting for the bar in the hotel. Basically gave out flyers from 12pm-1pm. We were let loose in the city centre. We were in Mc Donalds during that hour with other students on their lunchbreak. Handed out a few, the lads burned some of the flyers haha.

We all got 70 euro each at the end of the three weeks. Was some laugh but tbh we didnt learn a thing. Fella we were doing it for was hungover most days so told us we were grand so we went to Mc Donalds where we were going to go if we got posters or not.

But if i had my choice again I would get something I am interested in. I want to be a webdesigner or accountant or banker so tbh I wasted 2 valuable opportunities.

TY ruined me. Honest to god we all missed atleast 50 days school and didnt lift a pen all year.

Now im in 5th year and hoping i get 450+ in the leaving. eeeeeeeek

barry181091

Im thinking of doing my 2 weeks Work Experience with a local Solicitor, Anyone ever done their WE with a Solicitor ? ? Whats it like ?

Barry.

Conor108

I'll head out to a pharmacy or something now so. Let you know how it goes when I get home:)

UPDATE: Yes I got it! now I just need 1 more week:D:D:D

cuppcakes!

Has anyone ever been on work experience at a magazine?
And is the work worthwhile at all or just fetching coffee and crap?