IP development scientist (microbiology) Review

I really enjoyed my placement. It was really good to be able to experience a wide range of things through working with many different teams on lots of projects. Everyone that I worked with were really lovely and were there to help me if I had any issues. I was able to learn so much!

My team were all very supportive. My manager was very helpful - when it came to applying for the graduate scheme, she spent a lot of time going through my application and helping me to find areas that I needed to improve. My work was appreciated by my team and I was given a fair amount to do, including writing up long experiments which made me feel like my work was valued.

My manager was very helpful - when it came to applying for the graduate scheme, she spent a lot of time going through my application and helping me to find areas that I needed to improve. I had do fill out quarterly development questionnaires for university and my manager set up meetings and went through them with me which was really helpful.

The amount of work that I had was variable - on some days I would be in the lab all day and on others I would be at my computer. There was always something I could do or someone I could ask for extra work. I was involved in lots of projects so I was able to carry out a variety of tasks which were all different and very interesting!

I was responsible for ensuring that my work was completed on time and to a high standard. However, I was not "running the show" as in our department it was very much a team effort with everyone playing their part. I was in charge of a small project and managed a team of placement students to ensure it reached completion.

I have developed skill that I will be able to use throughout my career and my time at university. From practical skills in the lab, to general workplace skills such as communication, I have developed in many ways. It has been really great to be able to put some of the skills I have learnt at university into practise in a practical environment. I have been able to learn so much about how a pharmaceutical company like GSK works which will be useful in the future as I would like to work for a company like this again.

The atmosphere in the office was very friendly and everyone I worked with was lovely. There was often a great deal of conversation and chit-chat in the office which made it a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. I was able to talk to anyone in the office if I needed help or advice which was good. Everyone got on well, there were often events organised outside of work, such as cinema trips, evenings at the pub and horse riding!

I thought it was well organised. A few months in to my placement, the project I was originally working on was stopped. I was concerned that this would leave me without very much to do but it was quite the opposite! I was then able to work on lots of projects that I would not have otherwise been part of. There were times when the company that employ us, SRG, were disorganised with sorting out holiday entitlement etc which was a bit annoying but did not effect the overall organisation provided by GSK.

There were a range of training courses that I went to such as fire extinguisher and manual handling training. SRG also set up an employability training session which went through how to apply for grad schemes and jobs once we finish university. These courses were valuable as they enabled me to develop skills that I would not otherwise have gained.

Working with GSK in the future is very appealing as I have really enjoyed my placement. I have not given 10 stars as I have not "got a job with them". I have applied to their graduate scheme but it is very competitive so there is no guarantee. I will also apply for the "direct entry" which may be a way of me getting a job once I graduate from university.

There was a good amount of socialisation with those that I worked with. Our department often went on nights out and to other events. We had a ceilidh which was organised by people in the department which was really good fun! Amongst the placement students, there was a fair amount of socialisation. The site I worked at was split into two and we rarely saw placement students from the other side of the site, even the ones that I lived with! It was difficult to organise events with all of us there as most people just staying in their rooms in the evening and went home at weekends which was a shame. But those that I did socialise with were really lovely and we always had a good time.

I lived in Brighton which was quite expensive in comparison to Worthing where I worked. We had a student house which was much more expensive than other placement students who lived in house shares in Worthing. Overall it was slightly more expensive than living in Bath where I go to university and it was nice to be earning some money to support living and socialising.

I worked in Worthing which had a surprising amount of nice places to go in the evening. There were many occasions where I went out with people of all ages from my department which was always good fun. Living in Brighton was really good as we were very close to a lot of good places to go on a night out. It was slightly more expensive than Worthing but there were a lot of things to do.

There were a variety of activities that were organised by my team. We went on walks, for cocktails and pizza and even Western riding! it was really nice to be able to do activities outside of work.