Undergraduate: Analytical Chemistry Review

by Pfizer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

4/5
  • The Role
    4.1
  • The Company
    4.3
  • The Culture
    3.5

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I greatly enjoyed my placement at Pfizer - the office environment was very friendly, my job was always different from day to day so I gained a lot of varied experience across the year, and there was a good chance to balance work life with home life. On the work side, there were always opportunities to develop new skills and get involved in varied projects. There were also plenty of social events across the year, which gave an opportunity to grow closer with the people in my office and department.

    5/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • Everyone in the office I worked in got along quite well, and it was clear that everyone's personality was valued. During one team meeting everyone took the DISC personality assessment so we could better understand how each of us worked and how to accomodate those working styles. With weekly team meetings, monthly communications meetings, technical exchange forums and one-on-one meetings, there was always an opportunity to share new findings and ask questions if I needed to. The team also organised some team volunteering days, which was a good way to practice team building while also helping out with charities.

    5/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • When I first started my placement I was eased into labwork by first shadowing and training in basic lab skills before being allowed to complete work on my own. There were many times where I struggled with clumsiness or not wanting to ask for help, but was always encouraged to speak up if I needed support. If I asked someone and they didn't know the answer, they would always know who to direct me to for better help, and by the end of the year I was usually able to figure out who to ask first by myself.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • The workload was rather irregular in GMP Analytics. Stability studies were dependent on deadlines, and my project work was dependent on availability of the equipment I needed to use. This meant there were some "dry patches" where I found myself with little work to do, but there was usually at least something for me to do, even if it wasn't directly relevant to my role. I would help with filing paperwork, or shadowing other analysts in the lab, or making up solutions for other analysts.

    3/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • Whilst a lot of my work was predefined in terms of goals (e.g. stability studies), I had a lot of flexibility and independence in organising my own workload. In terms of my project work, I was given the chance to devise my own experiments and do my own research, but I sometimes found myself needing a lot of support to make sure everything fell in line with company policies.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • I learned how to use HPLC and process the data from HPLC in Empower, as well as pH and FTIR. I think these practical skills will serve me well as I continue my studies in chemistry, and I have become more careful and less clumsy in the lab since I started my placement. I have also learned more time management skills, and learned what it is like to work a 9-5 (or, 8:30-5) job every day rather than the more flexible schedule at University. I will try to take my work ethics to university when I am studying again next year.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • My coworkers were all very friendly and got along well - we took an interest in each other's lives and supported each other when we needed help. There was a fair share of chatting, but also a fair share of helping and work discussions. In February I ended up in hospital after getting run over by a car, and my supervisor came to visit on her day off with a card signed by everyone in the office - even if it was an unfortunate experience, I was glad that my office was so supportive as I eased back into work.

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The placement was incredibly well organised. All of my training and induction activities had already been timetabled by the time I arrived, so I could seamlessly work my way through the initial training load in the first few weeks and quickly begin lab work by the end of my first month at Pfizer. Contact with the other industrial placement students was arranged via a Facebook page which made finding housing easier, and an outline of what my project might be was emailed to me shortly before I started.

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • The company invested as much in my development as they would have any other full time employee, ensuring that I was properly trained in a range of techniques relevant to my role. I was also given several other opportunities to develop myself in ways not directly related to my role, for example I had the chance to learn some R programming, and to develop my presentation skills by giving presentations at technical exchanges, etc.

    4/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    Financial Bonus

    Company Parties/Events

    Above 25 days holiday

    Working from home

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I am not sure if I will personally work for Pfizer again after I graduate, but Pfizer does have a very highly-acclaimed graduate scheme and good opportunities for promotion and secondments for full time employees. I think that if I do work for Pfizer again in the future, the career prospects and opportunities seem good.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Since the majority of the other industrial placement students were based in a different building to me, I didn't have as much social contact with them as much as my colleagues in my office and building. However, in my office we did have good chances to socialise, such as a work Christmas lunch as well as an evening at an Escape Room in Canterbury.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of living was quite cheap in Ramsgate - my share of rent in a house of 5 was only £325 a month. The bus fare was quite expensive, at £4 for a day ticket, but that could get you unlimited bus rides in the Thanet area, including a round trip to work. Socialising of all price ranges could be catered for - from cheap to more upper class restaurants, and from free activities like the beach to a cinema and the vintage theme park Dreamland in Margate, with Canterbury only a few train stops away.

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • I am not really one to go out regularly, so I didn't go out once during my placement year. From what I have heard, the nightlife in Ramsgate itself is sub-par and not worth the money. However, Canterbury and London are not prohibitively far, and can offer much nicer nightlife as an alternative.

    2/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • There were plenty of opportunities - from volunteering days at a cat rescue centre or a wildlife park, to work Christmas meals, to team-building days like Escape Rooms organised by colleagues in my department, to the summer circus with a barbecue and comedy show, there were lots of chances to get involved and team-build outside of the office.

    5/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

South East

July 2018


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