{"id":2006,"date":"2025-08-06T11:15:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T10:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/?p=2006"},"modified":"2025-08-06T11:15:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T10:15:30","slug":"how-a-placement-year-prepared-me-for-an-accounting-and-finance-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/how-a-placement-year-prepared-me-for-an-accounting-and-finance-career\/","title":{"rendered":"How a placement year prepared me for an accounting and finance career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ethan, BSc Accounting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, Ethan shares how placements, paid roles, and expert support at UWE Bristol have helped build skills and confidence for a future career in the accounting and finance industry. He offers insights and advice for students looking to make the most of similar opportunities. Read more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“During my BSc Accounting degree, I was able to take part in a wide range of opportunities for personal and professional growth. The most valuable was my placement year with the university\u2019s finance team.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This experience was crucial in strengthening my soft skills like teamwork and advancing my personal and professional development. Interacting with professionals and seeing the university\u2019s operations up close gave me a new appreciation for the effort that goes into making UWE Bristol a thriving university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Careers and academic support<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had so much help and advice from the careers service. They\u2019ve helped me improve my CV, practise psychometric tests, and get ready for interviews through drop-ins and appointments. I\u2019ve used this service frequently, building relationships with the advisors and improving my preparedness for the future. The open and honest advice they provide is ideal for those seeking internships and placements, setting you up for long-term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve found my lecturers are incredibly friendly and are willing to go above and beyond to put your needs first. They are always prepared to give you their time to explain concepts you don\u2019t understand, including 1-1 help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting the professionals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On my course, there\u2019s an annual \u2018Ask the Expert\u2019 event which connects students to working professionals. This allows students to sit down with professionals in the accounting and finance industry to discuss career paths and goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I\u2019ve had the opportunity to attend this event as both a student and an expert, seeing both sides and providing my advice to current students. It acts as a powerful event for explaining to students what employers are looking for so they can prepare for the future.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Paid work experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aside from my placement, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to gain extra experience from paid positions within the university. These include student ambassador and peer-assisted-learning roles. Through these, I\u2019ve taken part in open days, and I\u2019ve tutored first-year students. These roles act as an excellent starting point to develop skills such as communication and working with others in a productive way. On top of being fun and rewarding, you also get paid to take part, giving your bank account a welcome top-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been presented with countless opportunities while at UWE that have shaped my academic journey and personal growth. From my placement year to the activities outside my course, each experience has equipped me with the skills I need to succeed. I now feel well prepared to pursue my goal of becoming a chartered accountant thanks to the university\u2019s supportive environment. The experiences I\u2019ve had have acted as a springboard to get me to where I want to be, and I\u2019m feeling well prepared for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about studying Accounting<\/a> at UWE Bristol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

By Ethan, BSc Accounting In this blog, Ethan shares how placements, paid roles, and expert support at UWE Bristol have helped build skills and confidence for a future career in the accounting and finance industry. He offers insights and advice for students looking to make the most of similar opportunities. Read more. “During my BSc … Continue reading “How a placement year prepared me for an accounting and finance career”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":2011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":133,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,154,151],"tags":[234,233,11],"class_list":["post-2006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","category-courses","category-placements","tag-careers-support","tag-placement-year","tag-uwe-bristol"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2006"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2014,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2006\/revisions\/2014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student-views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}