Work Placement – Get a taste of professional life

UAS courses of study are hands-on and practical in multiple ways:
Numerous lectures, courses and tutorials are held by professionals from the world of work; and, in addition, already during their studies students go out into every day work life and apply what they have learned. This is made possible by the work placement which is a required part of every UAS course of studies.

Here we do not mean “helping out” during a one-month summer job; the professional work placement as part of the UAS curriculum lasts one semester, during which time no courses are required to be attended. Instead, this first professional experience is overseen, followed, and evaluated in the selected area of expertise by the UAS course of studies. Working students in the part-time programme can receive credit for their work placement, provided that their job is in a field in which the chosen UAS course of studies provides the necessary tools. This is checked beforehand by the UAS. The ultimate decision in this context is made by the respective Head of Studies.

A great opportunity
For all the others, the great chance offered by the work placement is the opportunity to gain professional experience that not only helps students personally but also looks good on a CV. With relevant practical experience, graduates score points when applying later for jobs. The work placement, therefore, should be chosen with as much consideration and care as the course of studies itself. It’s not about just doing what is necessary, but rather about the best possible entry into professional life and making contacts for the time after one’s studies. Moreover, it is also an exploration of how to plan one’s career, the environment in which one feels at home, and the area of activity one is most suited to.

A question of aims
The search for a work placement should therefore begin with the question of the goals one aims to achieve during this temporary time of activity. Which tasks would I like to take on? In which type of corporate culture do I feel comfortable? The search for an ideal placement should begin a half a year in advance. Students receive help in this regard from their UAS. Yet one’s own initiative is, of course, essential. Some students arrange a work placement at a job fair, by responding to a job advertisement or simply after enquiring at the enterprise of their choice. Even if the decision made turns out to be wrong, there is something to be gained from the experience: the recognition of what does not suit an individual. The work placement should primarily serve the purpose of orientation by pointing the student in the right direction for his time after his studies.

Work placement abroad
Work placements cannot only be completed in Austria – more and more students are choosing to gain their first professional experience abroad and are benefitting from this two-fold: Besides gaining insights into professional daily life, they are giving their CVs an international touch. This type of experience abroad is not just a bonus when later applying for jobs but is even required in certain job profiles.

Tasks
During a UAS work placement, students are confronted with a specific task to fulfil. In the Bachelor courses of study, the work placement, therefore, takes place toward the end of one’s studies, namely between the fourth and six semesters. For some students, it turns out to be a door-opener and is, among other things, the start of their career. Depending on the industry, 15-30% of students receive a job offer from the company in which they completed their work placement. It is irrelevant whether the student works in a large or smaller enterprise. For later “usability” on the job market, the following is true: Large businesses contribute to a graduate’s CV through their reputation; smaller businesses, on the other hand, support independent work through their generally flat hierarchies and provide insights into a variety of areas of the business. This opportunity also exists for anyone who would like to complete his work placement in a family business, provided that a project can be pursued that relates to the content of the course of studies.

A foretaste of the job search
The work placement not only prepares students for the actual activities they will be completing later on in their daily work life. The application phase and various modes of such provide a real foretaste of what the job search is like after graduation. UASs take care of finding potential work placement providers, yet each individual student must take responsibility for his or her CV and letter of motivation. Usually, an interview is required as well. After all, the business is not hiring the trainee for just for four weeks but rather for a number of months.

Conclusion of contract
The acceptance of the job offer is then finalised with a contract. Not only does this document stipulate the pay, it also outlines precisely the area of activity and the responsible contact person. In the organisation, UAS students are assigned a specific person who is responsible for guiding him or her during the work placement and then for completing the evaluation at the end of the completed work placement. The pay is a matter of negotiating skill and varies as well from industry to industry and from province to province. Thus, it is wise to find out some reference points in terms of salary beforehand. Knowledge of foreign languages as well as previous job experience can also affect one’s pay positively. For those 15-30% who meet their employer during their Bachelor’s studies, various possibilities exist after graduating with a degree: He or she can leave the University of Applied Sciences and begin working full-time, work on a project as a freelancer and continue studying, or take on a position in the organisation and pursue his or her Master’s studies on a part-time basis.