Research scientist Review

Scientific research is great if you have an inclination towards it. If you don't, then there is a chance that you will hate your job, but that is in any case usually why students go on placements, to find out whether research is for them or not. If you happen to already know you want to be a research scientist, you will have a great time because there is a lot of expensive technology available for you to use and a lot of things that can and will go wrong so that you have to fix them. It's obviously not the same as research in academia, but as far as an undergraduate student is concerned, any research experience is a good thing and I believe you could do a lot worse than AZ.

My colleagues were very helpful whenever I needed to be shown how to use a machine or carry out a protocol, or when I had questions about science. I was not really treated differently from permanent staff (obviously apart from the salary) and after a few months you could almost convince yourself that you weren't a student anymore (although going back for your final year will brutally shock you back into reality). I can only really speak for my department, but I think people are people and in large companies you are likely to get similar treatment wherever you go.

I had a very supportive supervisor who always challenged my scientific knowledge and paid attention to any issues that came up with my work. He also helped with my project write up, pushing me to get it done before I finish my placement (which helped me have a nice relaxed holiday before going back to uni) and proofreading it several times.

This will really vary depending on what department you are placed in and what your project is about. I had a project that was generally focussed around a particular technique so there was a lot of development and optimisation as well as fine tuning along the way, but data collection really took up only a small proportion of the time i spent in the lab. There were whole days or even weeks when I didn't have any lab work to do so I spent that time in the write-up room bringing my lab book up to date and keeping up with the literature. I was asked to do 3 literature reviews during my placement, 2 of them fairly large, and those took up a substantial amount of time. It is obviously quite tiring to be spending days just reading papers and taking notes but that's just science, and it's really valuable to know the background of your project well so that you can interpret your results and troubleshoot issues.

My project was fairly well described before I got there, and it was in the context of a much broader spectrum of research going on related to this drug, so in terms of my aims I essentially did whatever I was told. However, in terms of doing actual laboratory work and optimising my methods, I had quite a lot of control and freedom. I re-wrote a substantial part of the workflow that was in place for the technique I used, and even put in place small innovations to make my own life easier. I of course was free to suggest things in project meetings and some of those suggestions were taken on board, just like anyone else's suggestions could be taken on board, student or not.

This was without a doubt the most useful year of my degree so far in terms of learning laboratory techniques and what it means to actually be a research scientist. The skills I developed were not just scientific but also skills you'll need to work in any sort of environment. I am definitely ahead of everyone else in my final year at university who hasn't had a placement year, and could dive right into my final year project without having to spend any time getting to know the various standard lab techniques. My placement year will also look great on my CV and gives me one extra year of research experience going into postgraduate education, which will (hopefully) be a huge advantage. It also allows me to bypass the MSc and go straight into a PhD.

My office happened to be a lot of fun (although sometimes a bit too loud), but that in no way means anything to you if you are applying for a placement, because there is no way to know what office you will be placed in. Obviously some offices will be more fun than others, but in any case this is hardly an important factor.

There was excellent organisation on the part of AstraZeneca. There was a person responsible for the placement scheme who kept in close touch with all of us before the start and in the duration of our placement. Interviews were quite informal and relaxed, and we had a familiarisation day about 6 months before we started to get some information about the placement, the surrounding region and the other students starting with us. That gave us a chance to meet people and sort out accommodation. HOWEVER, there were significant problems with the office which was in charge of our employment and the external recruitment agency that it communicated with. Many students encountered problems with the way they were being paid, especially concerning taxation and holidays. We received no information from this office about how the whole system worked and what taxes we should expect to be paying. In any case, all issues were eventually sorted out, and we gave them lots of feedback so I'm sure they will improve.

I'm not really sure what this question is about, so I'll leave the score neutral.

While I don't think there is any policy that former placement students are considered favourably, it would certainly be a point that you could push if you were applying for a job there. Same as most placements, I think.

The Alderley Park and Macclesfield sites have a total of about 40-50 placement students, and almost everyone lives in Macclesfield, which is not a university town so there aren't that many opportunities for student night life but we made sure that didn't stop us. We were a very close group (albeit with a couple of outsiders) and did so many things together, from having lunch every day to long weekends in Wales to nights out in Macc and Manchester to house parties, we really had a great time. It is up to you to take advantage of this year where you are still a student but don't have any work to worry about outside 9 to 5, which is really special.

Rent was fairly cheap, there was a cheap subsidised bus from Macclesfield to Alderley Park, and Macc is generally a good town to live in. Manchester is notoriously cheap when it comes to nightlife, but be aware that there are parts of Manchester where this is not true at all (Northern quarter). If you stick to the student places then it's great. You can easily live on the salary you'll get from your placement and have money left over to put away/treat yourself.

Let's be honest, Macclesfield is a small town and you can't expect it to be a great place to go out. There are 3 or 4 clubs and they range from alright to atrocious. There are lots of good pubs and restaurants, however. Manchester is a half hour away on the train and is a fantastic place to go out, although the last train back to Macc is just after 11 so you'll need to book a taxi home. If there's a big group of you then it turns out pretty cheap anyway.

There was a sports centre with subsidised gym and football fields/tennis courts. Lots of sports clubs and gym classes to join. Cheshire is beautiful and if you have a car there are lots of great places around Macclesfield to visit, and Wales is only a couple of hours away. You'll have lots of free time in the afternoon and on the weekends to do all these things. I even managed to form a band with some other students and ended up playing a gig in a pub in Macclesfield, which was brilliant.