Drug Product Supply Informatics Undergraduate Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement at Pfizer. Throughout the course of the year, I have been given brilliant guidance and have been able to really understand the Pharma industry and the jobs behind it. From day one I was made to feel part of the team, and over the course of the year I have been given a vast amount of responsibility and opportunity to not only advance my knowledge of computer systems, but also the opportunity to network and take part in events such as volunteering days.

I felt valued by my colleagues to the full extent. I was definitely made to feel part of the team and didn't feel like anyone treated me as a temporary student, but instead as a valued colleague. I certainly felt of value to my supervisor also, and people definitely appreciate having an undergraduate's 'young and fresh' ideas on things.

My supervisor was excellent at guiding me at the start of my placement and providing me with support throughout. He immediately introduced me to other colleagues and had meetings set up in advance so I could get to know other departments on site. Throughout the placement, he was always available for me to question, and we had weekly meetings to ensure I was okay and to help me along with my work if need be.

My work load varied from week to week, some days I was constantly working away at my projects, and other days when my work was more limited I had a lot more free time. This extra time however gave me the opportunity to complete University work, so I managed to keep myself busy quite easily. My supervisor also regularly checked that my work load was appropriate, that I wasn't working ridiculous hours but also wasn't sat with nothing to do.

I was given what I feel was the perfect amount of responsibility, enough to feel important within the team, but not so much that I was constantly under a great deal of pressure. I was given the challenge of completing a few main projects throughout the year with deadlines, and was tasked with becoming the site expert on a few systems. For example, I had the responsibility of training others, and being available with the knowledge to help them whenever new problems arrived.

Working with a variety of new systems has definitely improved my IT skills, something which will be very useful when working post-Univeristy. I have also had the opportunity to work on an Innovation conference, which has given me a whole other range of skills involving event planning/preparation and the challenges faced. This for example, will be very useful when completing competency based interview questions.

The atmosphere in my office was in general very relaxed and laid back. People were always friendly and there was always light chatter/noise going on, making it feel more comfortable. You were always welcome to walk up to people and chat instead of emailing for example, along with the office doing events such as bake sales to bring everyone together.

My personal placement was very well set up, I had clear goals for my year, and was given all of the skills to achieve them. Beforehand, all of the placement students for my year were added into a facebook group so we could familiarise ourselves with each other, and to help arrange housing for the duration.

At the very start of my placement, I was assigned many training documents and programmes to complete in order to understand more about the company and my job role. In hindsight, these prepared me excellently for my year, and Pfizer allowed me to also develop my personal skills throughout the year by letting me undertake thorough training on the systems I have used.

For me personally I do think that being employed by the company in the future would be appealing, particularly if at a different site/location. I really enjoy my job and feel as though my skills could definitely be an asset to the company, just the location is very far away from my family and friends. If I had the opportunity to do the same job elsewhere but still within Pfizer, I would definitely consider it.

All of us undergraduates were arranging activities from the first weekend on placement. I was very busy on weekends for most of the year, and still feel as though I did lots of things with fellow placement students in my spare time. For example, there are several nice restaurants and pubs nearby, which we often visit in the evenings, as well as more obscure activities such as Escape Rooms or Ice Skating.

The cost of living was very reasonable - much cheaper than the rent at University - and with a decent salary it was easy to cover for this yourself. Socialising was also well priced, some places are obviously more expensive than others, but compared to my friends on placement in London, it was very reasonably priced down in the Thanet area.

I never went out in Sandwich, where the actual placement was, but in Ramsgate where I lived there were multiple opportunities to have a night out. Britain's biggest Wetherspoons was located just down the road with several bars and clubs on the road leading away from this (very convenient as you could walk to and from to save paying for taxis or trains). If you wanted bigger/better Nightlife, Canterbury is only a short train journey away, with some really nice cocktail bars and bigger clubs where the University students go.

Being a very sporty person, I was very interested in joining some sports clubs which I could go to in the evenings. Someone in my department managed to get me involved with the local Thanet Netball League, which had weekly matches, and another colleague got me involved in the companies badminton club night on a Tuesday. After a short while, I met another Pfizer employee who's daughter played badminton also, and I was able to join in with their coaching once a week. There are also several gyms in the local area, and I know other placement students took part in activities such as yoga, running clubs or tennis.