Maike Schmidt
University of Leeds
MPhys Physics
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“I was involved in a range of projects whilst at Aire Global, they included financial budgeting for renovating the office, calculating the percentage of employee’s monthly wages that contributed to their involvement in making working from home/remote working possible. I researched a R&D grant proposal and assessed the eligibility for the Ad-venture grant. And also researched the social morals and responsibilities of some of the clients to see if they aligned with the ones of Aire Global.”
“I think the most valuable thing I learnt was how to use the XERO software. I was also able to understand the amount of work that goes into growing a business. Despite being in a specific sector of the company (e.g. finance) doesn’t mean that you are confined to this role there is a lot of interdisciplinary work and integration of different ‘departments’ of the company.”
“Whilst I didn’t use any specific theoretical physics knowledge whilst in the role, I did apply data analysis and an analytical way of thinking to the role. Also, I utilised my ability to conduct research in a time limited situation, filtering out the useful information and understanding industry jargon quickly within context. These are skills that I have acquired throughout my degree, such as in labs and research-based modules, it has made me realise that doing a degree in physics gives key ‘soft’ skills which are highly employable in industry.”
“I think the internship will help me in the future as it shows a willingness to learn and step outside of education. It’s given me the opportunity to build a larger skill set and improve and expand my existing skills. It’s given me an appreciation for corporate time management and allowed me to build professional relationships for references and further contacts which may be more specific to the field that I want to go into.”