Microbiology IP student Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement with Johnson&Johnson. From day 1, I was made to feel apart of the Jnj family, the work environment was relaxed yet productive, and my colleagues were friendly and supportive with whatever questions I had. Although I was thrown into front-line industry early on, I was supported well by those around me, and as a result I now have a rich understanding of the Medical Device industry.

My colleagues made clear that although I was a temporary employee, I was a valued member of the team, and as a result I was confident enough to take on a large amount of responsibility early on.

In the early stages of the placement where it is easy to feel overwhelmed, I had regular meetings with my line manager, tracking my progress and highlighting any areas that I can work on to improve my industry experience. As I came to the end of this placement, I was more independent and these meetings eventually stopped.

I was very busy on a daily basis. My first priority was to meet base-business deadlines, once these had been met I was able to focus on other CV-building areas of the business.

As a student fresh out of the 2nd year of University, I was given a huge amount of responsibility. I took ownership of 2 test methods and guided by a metric, it was my duty to complete these tests within set deadlines. I enjoyed this experience massively, and I was given the independence to structure my working day the way I wanted it to be structured.

As far as my degree is concerned, the time management, deadline meeting and organisational skills will be invaluable. I now have a much broader understanding of industry standard test methods and I am looking forward to applying these to my final year project at University.

I worked in a Lab throughout the placement. The lab team were very close, and worked very efficiently while maintaining a relaxed atmosphere.

My first 2 months consisted of valuable training, after this period I was free to organize my day how I pleased, being given this opportunity meant I have now developed strong independence.

In terms of training, I was heavily invested in. I shadowed a lab technician for the first part of the training period, before I then moved onto carrying out the tests with supervision. I am very grateful for the time the team invested in me.

I will be applying to the Johnson & Johnson Graduate scheme this summer. This is a company I can see myself working for in the future.

Social events were only organised at Christmas, or for fellow colleagues birthdays/ leaving party's.

The cost of living was incredibly cheap, but socialising without significant travel was hard.

During the summer nightlife was very busy, but in the winter months the area is very quiet.

Jnj offer 5 days of paid voluntary work a year, these involved working with a local hospice or helping out at a local gardens. An annual charity day is also organised site wide and there are opportunities to volunteer at various careers fairs.