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Year 3 General Advice

General Advice

For EIE: in Spring term I think a good balance is 2 EEE modules and 2 DoC modules (assuming your split is four modules per term). If you’re doing 3 EEE modules and 1 DoC module... have fun with coursework lol – JZ, 2020/21

I feel that 3rd year is a time to think about what parts of the course you’re enjoying, and what parts you want to focus on going ahead. If you enjoy what you do, you’ll find it a lot easier to cope with the work. Tarik (see below) is right about more spare time! - Aaman 2020-21

Congrats in surviving your 2nd year - for 3rd year - it is tough as you're graduating soon and you need to look for jobs, so get prepared early, the soon the better – 2019/20

It's a lot of work, in my opinion harder than 2nd year, but it's way more enjoyable – Yusuf, 2019/20

It’s better than second ;) – Kunal, 2019

It passes quickly, so don't become complacent just because you have spare time (alot more compared to second year) – Tarik, 2019/20

Autumn Term

BPES: Accounting is the closest to a fair-evaluation module (not random marks on your essays) but it’s the most time-consuming. Placements: you really need to prioritize at the beginning of the year how much time you are read to spend on interviewing. You’ll get many 1-2 week notice interviews, most of which last on average 2.5 hours. This will slow your study pace, so make sure you’re on top of things when possible. - Jaafar 20/21

Business School: Take whatever you want that are in suitable for your interests, just don't spend too much time on it – 2019/20

Wear masks, better time management since you also need to apply jobs – 2019/20

Looking for a placement is like a module of it's own and Imperial's help is useless; take that into account when working out how much to do – Yusuf, 2019/20

Spend the first month applying for internships!! – Kunal, 2019/20

For EIE, pick less modules so you can focus better on your IP applications – Tarik, 2019

Spring Term

Spring term is a test of your ability to prioritise, manage time and divide it well between all the different coursework deadlines that you have. If you want to do well, it will require hard work – Aaman, 2020-21

Go hard or go home – 2019/20

Enjoy it! – Kunal, 2019/20

For EEE modules, coursework can be time consuming, so don't get lazy in January or you will stress in March – Tarik, 2019/20

Industrial Placement/Group Projects/Individual Projects

Ask people in higher years who interned at the companies you’re interested in. They’ll give you interview tips, help you on the CV, tell you exactly what it’s like working at the company as a student interning. Potentially they’ll also refer you in most cases. For software interviews, leetcode is good, but in-person practice is 10 times better in my opinion. Try to get one face-to-face session per week with a friend or someone in a higher year with more technical interview experience. For PM and non-technical interviews, read “Cracking the PM interview”. It provides you with general rules and guidelines and how to structure your answers and guide yourself through the interviewer’s questions. Most recruitment starts in August for tech and trading, start reaching out to recruiters by then. - Jaafar 20/21

Start applying as early as possible – get your CV/LinkedIn/whatever else ready before term starts and then start applying. The earlier you get your placement sorted out the easier your life will be. Also – you'll probably be rejected by most places. If you’re going for a software role, make sure you practice a lot beforehand as well. - JZ, 2020/21

It’s ok to get your application rejected. It happens. And it’s ok if you don’t end up getting a placement. That can also happen. None of this defines you. - Aaman, 2020-21

Understand yourself better, what careers you want to pursue, how to represent yourself in CV/Cover letter, compare your current skills set to your desire jobs requirement, find areas to improve. – 2019/20

Start applying early! Oct is a good time to start applying. – 2019/20

Focus on applications - those are more important – 2019/20

Apply to a LOT and don't be disheartened by not getting responses. – Yusuf, 2019/20

Man just get a placement, like start searching at the beginning of the year. Group project is alright but its no replacement for being paid. - 2019/20

Spend all of October and November applying! Best to have an offer before the end of the year, Then you can really chill out in second term. And Get ready for lots of rejections – Kunal, 2019

Go careers fair (if it's not cancelled because of corona), check websites/LinkedIn for applications – Tarik, 2019/20

Be great at one programming language (show dem your projects), have semi-decent grades, demonstrate your communication skills and landing a placement is just an arm-length away. After couple of failures, you would learn what interviewers want to hear and what interviewers don’t want to know about. 2020/21 Z