Industrial Placement Student Review

I enjoyed my placement thoroughly. It's the best decision I could have made. I learned so much in terms of subject-specific knowledge, but also soft skills that I could never have learned in university, like fitting in to a new job and new environment, and what its like to have a full-time job (no long breaks like at uni!).

I felt really valued by my colleagues. I was worried that I'd just get the work nobody liked doing and I'd be a bit of an outsider, but that's not what happened at all. I got real, valuable work and I was treated like a proper member of the team - I fit right in!

I was so well supported - from the really big projects I took on, to the tiny details I was unsure of - my colleagues were always happy to support me. My manager always made time for a chat if I needed it. My project supervisor was more than happy to explain things to me, and would find a way for me to understand it if I didn't get it the first time.

With my department, work loads vary on a daily basis - purely due to the nature of our work. But on a busy day, I'd have plenty to do and the day would fly by. On a quieter day, there's always little things to do (e.g. data checking), so I was rarely without something to do. I got involved with things outside of my department as well (site newsletter), so I could work on that if I found a lull of work.

I felt I had a good amount of responsibility. For routine work, I had enough to feel like I was trusted and competent, but not too much that I felt overwhelmed or under pressure to get things perfect. For my project work, I was responsible for the decisions made, but if I felt I needed some guidance I could always ask my supervisor or manager. However, they would try and get me to take responsibility and make the call. I liked that a lot.

I learned an unbelievable amount and developed skills I could never have developed in university. I have worked for a year at a brilliant, world-leading company with the best colleagues I could have asked for. I will take all that I've learned back to university, and I'm sure it will help tremendously in my final year of study. Beyond university, my year will show that I have an excellent amount of work experience and that I'm capable of being a professional scientist.

Absolutely brilliant atmosphere. If you have important work to do, you can get on with it. If you fancied a chat about the football (especially during the World Cup), you had plenty of people to talk to. There was a real community feel. We could work hard, but also laugh hard.

The application itself was great. First, some written answers, then some tests that were like a less pressurised UKCAT test, which I loved. The only thing I would say could be improved is the lack of communication whilst you wait to hear if you've got an interview. During that time, I had to make a decision as to whether I should commit to a house in my university town or not, in case I got the placement. I was also looking at the possibility of other placements, so an email updating applicants as to where they are in the process (e.g. not successful, under consideration, etc) would be helpful.

I was allowed the time to complete online training courses for the instruments I was using in the lab, and I was able to take part in things outside of my department (e.g. site communications team, LGBT group), so I could develop myself. However, in terms of the company investing in my training, I didn't feel like I that had many opportunities presented to me.

As a company, I would love to come back and work at GSK. I'm only temporary, but I love my work and I'm proud to say I work here. However, just on a personal note, they don't have an office in the location I would want to live in/near, so I don't think I could return. I'm devastated about that.

The social side of the IPs wasn't superb. A few "cliques" developed, and our Site Ambassador was awful - we never saw them, and they never made an effort. I tried to get everyone involved in things. We had an IP WhatsApp group, so I would ask if people would like to go to the pub quiz, go to the pub on Friday after work, go to the cinema, go for a meal and sometimes go out to the local club. I very rarely got any response. There was a group of about 5 of us, plus some who would occasionally show their face, who came to those things.

Coming from the North down to near London was a shock to the system: £4.50 for a pint of Strongbow! Very expensive. I wouldn't dream of going out for a drink in London. I'm close enough and the prices are higher than I'd like. However, a couple of places do 2 for 1 cocktails after work until 7pm, so that's not too bad! Food prices are fine, so going out for meals is a good option.

Where we are, there's a couple of bars on the high street, but they get really expensive after 7pm, so it was a good place to start your night early and end early if that's what you wanted. If you wanted to carry on boogying into the night, in the next town over there were a couple of places where you could shake your tail feathers, and it was only a few minutes on the train. So overall, once you know the layout, it was good!

There was a lot to get involved with if you knew where to look. I was involved in the work LGBT group, which involved getting together inside and outside of work (lunches, Pride parade). I was also a part of the site communications team, which meant I had things to do outside of my department. Also, the sports and social club attached to the site provided a lot of sporting opportunities, from 5-aside football to kayaking! I play rugby, so after securing a flat, my next priority was finding a team. I found a fabulous team to join, and they played a huge part in my year.