First job hunting

The internships usually take place in science & technology companies and bear all the characteristics of a proper job, including the need to persuade a group of people about one’s competence and value for the workplace, first in writing and then in a short conversation. Thus third year students get a peek at the world which awaits them after graduation – the grim omen of exams is overshadowed by the danger of unemployment. Admittedly, it is more pleasant to receive an email full of phrases like ‘unfortunately, due to a record high volume of strong applications this year...’’ then have the words BAD FAIL printed in one’s transcript. Nevertheless, the possibility of finding out that the outside world is just not interested in all your hard-earned skills is quite stressful. Therefore, by mid-autumn, third years are besieging the careers advice centre, ornament their CVs and invent cover letter phrases in an attempt to secure the placement they’re after. The choice is limited and some (University of Chicago) are more popular than others (University of Novosibirsk), it therefore often happens that fellow students become competitors. All, however, stays within boundaries of friendly rivalry, although one can’t help feeling a bit bitter when sentences such as ‘he got a better grade’ are replaced by ones like ‘he got the job I wanted’.

I have myself applied to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It is a British national facility – a large complex built in the fields of Oxfordshire where several crown jewels of british science are located (Diamond synchrotron, ISIS neutron source, Vulcan petawatt laser). For the interview, my theoretical preparation was fairly decent, my lousy knowledge of ethiquette was luckily discovered by my friends in time (after two years spent on a science campus, it is easy to get the impression that you only wear a suit for your graduation and Nobel prize ceremony). In mid-December then, after completing my flatmate’s crash course in tie knots, I set out for a train journey to the town of Didcot near Oxford.

After spending the night at a hotel and attempting to eat a full English breakfast, I went to the applicants’ meeting point. My doubts regarding the dress code were immediately dispersed – it was obvious that everyone dressed their best. Some students were however a bit too competitive for my liking – it was as though they are trying to make the others nervous (‘when did you get your interview invitation?’ - ‘Friday’ - ‘ah, I got mine on Monday, you were probably a second choice then’). I therefore preferred a chat with the current placement students whose opinion of working at RAL was, fortunately, very high.

I had mixed feelings about the interview itself. The fact that I read through the research group’s work made a good impression, I was, on the other hand, somewhat surprised by myself succumbing to stress and, as a result, having difficulties speaking clearly. What I did not expect was asking for my opinion about the Higgs boson discovery. Because I thought it pointless to go over how fabulous a feat it is, I truthfully said that I’ve had little to do with particle physics and that I was frankly surprised by the uproar caused by a discovery which vast majority of people don’t even remotely understand. Of course, I immediately realised that I had just dismissed a major success of European science and one of the most famous British physicists, and that I might as well go home.

All the more pleasant was my surprise when I received a phone call from one of the group members offering me the position. I accepted it and so I am about to spend 12 months computer modelling and testing spin-polarisers for the ISIS neutron source (the resemblance to the Islamic state is purely coincidental but does not prevent me and my friends from pulling lame jokes revolving around ‘Jan has joined ISIS’).

Hunting for a job was an important experience for me and I’m glad it ended well. Well might be an understatement – the position was actually my first choice. I’m really looking forward to the internship and I’m trying to get into the technical details of it beforehand so that I don’t have to learn everything in a hurry later. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help feeling a little bit melancholic when I opened my first employment contract, at the end of which was attached a guide to taxes and pension schemes.