The secret to success at the Ministry of Defence

Last summer, I jumped in the car for a two and a half hour trip to Portsmouth, to begin my internship with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). I had been interested in defence for a long time, and I was incredibly excited to get started, and to make the first steps in what I hoped would be my career path.

There was a bit of preamble before I was jumping up and down in the kitchen with my flatmates, celebrating the email offering me a place. The application process was simple and completely transparent. The first step was an application form, asking for all the usual grades and work experience, some online tests, and competency questions. The one thing that made Dstl’s application form very different was the eligibility questions.

As a department of the Ministry of Defence (MOD), you have to meet certain citizenship criteria in order to apply, as you can be asked to work with sensitive material whilst you’re
there. You also need to supply two references who will confirm your honesty and discreetness. If you feel the need to discuss the ins and outs of your work with your flatmates, this isn’t the job for you! If, however, you can keep the details quiet and are looking for a job that will allow you to make a real difference right off the bat, read on.

The interview was far less nerve-wracking than you would expect. There was no assessment centre for the summer internship, no group exercises, no building towers out of paper cups, and no eyeballing the competition. It was two employees who were genuinely interested in whether or not defence was my passion. It made a refreshing change from jumping through hoops, and I felt as though Dstl’s application process was trying to help me rather than fail me.

After receiving my offer, there was an anxious wait for security clearance which I was told could take up to three months. Luckily, it didn’t take as long, but the hunt for houses over the exam period was still rather stressful. I ended up in a less-than-perfect student house with a slug infestation and a slight mould issue, but I’ve been told by the other employees of Dstl that there are plenty of nice areas around! The job was still entirely worth it, which should definitely tell you something.

The work itself was incredibly exciting. I was thrown into a challenging project, but was supported the whole way through. I was an analyst in the Strategic Balance of Investment (Strat BoI) team, but it was far more varied than finance. Government policy, military resources and the opinion of military advisors all came into the mix, making it much more rewarding than the one dimensional number crunching you find in other financial roles in the private sector.

Most of all, working for the MOD gave me a huge amount of job satisfaction. Even as a summer student, you work on important projects that will have a real impact on the work done by Dstl and consequently on UK defence and security. At no point was I made to feel like a summer intern. I was treated like a ‘real’ employee, with real work, real responsibility and a real opinion. My work came with all the perks that full-time employees receive, including a shuttle bus to work and flexi-time. Considering that I commuted from my home North of London for the last two weeks (in order to avoid spending any more time in that house than I absolutely had to), the flexi-time was a fabulous resource. Essentially, provided that I completed my work and did 37 hours a week, it didn’t matter when I did them. That level of responsibility means that I came away with a proper experience of working in the Civil Service, and all of my questions about working in the organisation were answered through working there. I was even afforded the opportunity to present my findings to the military at the end of my internship, an immensely valuable experience.

Dstl is a vast organisation that covers a large amount of the scientific research commissioned by the MOD. If you are interested in working in the scientific side of defence, then they will have a position for you. From analysis, to programming to engineering, Dstl covers a massive range of skills and areas of research. Some graduate positions are still open, but deadlines are fast approaching. Summer internships have just opened, so get applying!