Placements have become commonplace in most university degrees and are now compulsory for some. For good reason, placements are, without a doubt, invaluable in developing a well-rounded university graduate and set you up for success in later parts of your degree. There are thousands of posts now online about why you should do one and the value you will gain. I don’t intend to rehash or rethink any of these. Instead, I want to talk about a niche group of those who choose to go on placement, those who decide not only to leap into the industry but also those who determine that leap is going abroad.

It’s probably time to explain the title. I wrote a blog while on my placement at PING in Phoenix, AZ. This blog, now archived, was my way of diarising how I felt whilst on placement and trying to explain the process I was going through, practically and mentally. One of the articles was titled The Drive and was about the process of leaving the country. This blog will use The Drive, and the 19 other blogs I wrote while there to explain the process I went through and conclude with why, I think, if you can, doing a placement abroad is something everyone should consider.

Phase 1 – I got the job!

As anyone can attest, when you get that email saying you have gotten the job after receiving so many others with words to the effect of “Thank you for applying, we received many great applications, and whilst we think you will go on to have a great career, we won’t be employing you at this time.”, it is truly a weight off your shoulders. It is so exciting, especially as was the case for me; it was a job that perfectly combines my interests and my preferred phase of engineering research, namely research and innovation. This feeling is incomparable, especially when you have gotten a job abroad and have the additional adrenaline-fuelled excitement of moving to another country. Enjoy it because after a short while, Phase 2 hits.

Phase 2 – S**t, I got the job.

This might seem counterintuitive to some, but this phase was one of the hardest for me. I was so excited about the possibility of moving abroad and the job I had lined up. Then I went to the US Embassy, and suddenly, nerves hit me. This feeling happens for most people with a new job; the adrenaline wears off, and practicalities set in. Suddenly, it feels like you have this mountain in front of you. I had never been to Phoenix before, and the realisation I was committing to a year in an unknown city at least 14 hours travel away. It was more like multiple days when considering booking a flight from my support network was daunting. Looking back on it, this was the first real lesson going into such a foreign environment taught me:

NERVES ARE JUST A FORM OF EXCITEMENT THAT HASN’T QUITE FOUND ITS HOME YET

I was fortunate that the previous year’s intern spent the time to talk to me about the challenges I was about to face. I cannot stress enough that if you are about to go on your year abroad, try to find someone who has been through it before. They will help you rationalise your feelings and prepare you for the coming year.

Phase 3 – The Drive

Following is a relatively brief segment of the blog The Drive, talking about my first few days in Phoenix:

So, I am here. After a slightly bumpy landing caused by all the mountains that surround Sky Harbor International and a rough time with the immigration officers (something that was almost entirely self-inflicted), I am finally living in Phoenix.

So, what is it like living in a foreign country, thousands of miles away from friends and family? Well, at the moment, it has been pretty awesome.

It’s incredible how the human mind can flip a switch. When I left the UK, I was a nervous wreck. I had no idea when I had put myself in for it. It wasn’t helped when I landed in the US, and I realised I had foolishly left part of my visa at home. After a while, feeling like I was a character in one of those border security programs, US Immigration were kind enough to let me into the country. Once I got to the “land-side” and met Alex, one of the employees at PING, my brain forgot that it was nervous and remembered it was excited. From then on, I only remember how everything felt like this massive adventure for the first two months. Sure, there were times when I felt homesick and missed family and friends, but most of the time, I felt like a 6ft 3inch, 20 stone version of Dora The Explorer. And this is the first great thing about doing your placement abroad:

YOU GET TO UNDERSTAND THE BEING OUTSIDE YOUR BUBBLE LEADS TO GROWTH

For most, going to university is the first time they fly the nest. And whilst this is great, I would contest that you are never truly outside your bubble. Parents can often travel to visit you, and it is common for a couple of friends from home to find their way nearby. Going abroad removes this safety net, and in the first couple of months, whilst there are some inevitable challenges, you begin to truly realise that you are capable of a lot more than you know.

Phase 4 – Community

After a couple of months of settling in, learning the ropes, making mistakes, and generally having fun, you feel at home. Suddenly, you realise that you have made new friends and have begun to enjoy and experience new things in life. It just feels…natural. This is when you come to the second realisation of your experience abroad:

WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE IS COMMUNITY

You begin to feel at home. PING as a company are phenomenal at making people feel part of the group, and whilst “family” in a corporate sense has become a bit of a gross, overused and underdelivered word, for PING, it rings true. This helped hugely when settling in and made me feel like I belonged. It was a weird sensation to be at home 4,000 miles away from where my parents and life were based before, but it made me realise that there are always people there to help and support you; all you need to do is ask. Feeling supported and at home in somewhere that was previously so foreign is a highly liberalising feeling and opens your entire world up to new possibilities.

Phase 5 – Culture

NEVER JUDGE A PERSON UNTIL YOU’VE WALKED A MILE IN THEIR SHOES – Atticus Finch

Culture is a weird, somewhat intangible and fluid word to some. But when you feel intertwined with the culture and part of its soul, it is such a natural feeling that you can’t imagine not understanding it. As the placement went on, especially in the second six months, I became increasingly involved in different parts of life around Phoenix. This ranged from going to eateries and getting to know the food cultures of other communities to going to events to just seeing and speaking to people from a variety of backgrounds you could never have spoken to before. In an increasingly globalised world, this gives you a huge insight into how different communities operate and the most effective way to communicate with them. It is possible through a placement that allows you to work with clients or suppliers worldwide. These experiences have a lot of value in their own right. Still, nothing can beat seeing how another culture and community work first-hand and going on a placement abroad simply will give you an advantage against anyone who hasn’t when working with organisations from that region. It was eye-opening for me during my placement how even two countries as similar in many ways as the US and the UK had such different operating practices. In the States, more so than in the UK, a lack of a stiff upper lip leads to a culture that is more accepting of sometimes brutal honesty and valuing opinions.

In contrast, in the UK, people are likelier to hold their emotions closer to their chest. This may also be a function of PING’s kind of company, where everyone is truly made to feel like they have value. However, this is a philosophy I saw in general life outside work and the working environment.

Phase 6 – Home and Reflection

The final phase of an international placement is coming home and restarting your life. This is a time for massive reflection, and you come to conclusions about the year you have had. For me, three main things came out of it. Firstly, I was grateful that I had been allowed to do it in the first place. Many people would be instantly put off by the pressures being so far away might have on their lives and the potential financial implications these have. My phenomenal family and friends ensured this was never allowed to put me off. Secondly, I loved both living in Phoenix and working for PING. I landed on my feet with both the location and the company, and the fact that I had enjoyed the year as much as I had was a testament to that. Finally, for me, living in the Midwest to Western parts of the USA was something that, at least for the time being, I would not be comfortable doing. This is for various reasons, primarily that I would feel too far from the network I hold close to permanently. It taught me:

YOU’RE FAMILY, BIOLOGICAL OR CHOSEN, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU HAVE

Also, I value things about living in the UK immensely, namely free and permanently accessible healthcare and a more consistent approach to liberal and progressive values that I align more with. It gave me more of an appreciation of what I had and what I had to lose. These feelings have only increased since I am in a stable, healthy relationship for the first time in my life and my group of friends is so tight now that it is more accurate to call it family. That all being said, I still love the US and fully intend to spend many holidays and, hopefully, work trips out there, enjoying an amazing part of the world.

Going on a placement abroad allowed me to scratch the proverbial itch of experiencing living life abroad whilst giving me the safety net of being a year and not a permanent decision. Along the way, I learned many lessons that I would not have learnt any other way. For that, it will be one of the most valuable and enjoyable years of my life and certainly the most valuable thing I did throughout my degree.