Medical Undergraduate Review

The placement gave me a fantastic insight into the pharmaceutical world. I had opportunities to explore different areas of the business alongside my normal role. I have been involved with many projects, each has enabled me to expand my knowledge with different software, programs and personal skills. I have enjoyed this placement greatly.

The best part about working for Pfizer is that everybody is treated equally. Due to this, I feel valued at work. I also feel like the work that I produce is valued by my colleagues as they are very encouraging and praise my work often. As my work is valued, it has allowed me to enjoy my work much more as I feel I am making a difference.

I have had excellent support from my manager. We have weekly meetings to catch up on everything I have been doing lately. This has allowed me to regularly discuss any issues I am having or any questions I may have. This has also been beneficial for personal issues. There have been occasions where I am struggling with personal problems and I have been able to speak to my manager about.

My work fluctuated greatly on a weekly and daily basis. Some days I have a lot of work to do and I am doing things non stop, but there are also times when I have nothing to do and means I am bored. I feel this may be due to the fact that when I do get work I want to do it as fast as I can to impress my colleagues, however now I see this is not how I should have approached work.

I had a lot of responsibility for a lot of my projects. I would do tasks that, had they not been done, meant that the project can proceed. However, there was one occasion where I had a very big part to the project, but my responsibilities were taken away without any warning, which meant I had no involvement in the project anymore, which was upsetting.

As this is my second job, I feel I have learned things that will be useful my whole life. I have learned how to work in an office, speak to colleagues, do presentations and use Microsoft programs. I have also gotten into a good routine of doing work during the day and relaxing in the evening.

There was a nice vibe in the office on most days. There was always someone to chat to if you wanted. We also had a table tennis table in the office which was a lot of fun and a good way to relax. there was also quiet areas if needed which was nice.

The onboarding process was well done and I feel like I had a lot of help to learn everything I needed. There was also a good handover of responsibilities. Unfortunately there was a massive reorganisation which meant a lot of people lost their jobs. This meant a lot of my projects disappeared overnight.

I didn't have any specific training. I learned most of the skills on the job. I have had the opportunity to go to conferences which was a great way to speak to more people in the pharmaceutical industry. I have also visited some of the other offices that work with Pfizer, which was great.

I would like to continue working with Pfizer, however I will need to get more experiences at other jobs first. I am interested in the Medical side and there are no graduate jobs for this, sadly. One downside is that the office is very far away from my home time, which is offputting for me

There was a really good social scene with my fellow students. There was over 80 students which was nice. we had parties together and went for meals together too. I was also able to live with other placement students too which made the experience even better. I have made some friends for life here.

It was a lot more expensive than what I am used to. The closest supermarket was sainsburys which was very expensive for me. The pubs were almost too expensive to even go to. I was also paying for rent on my uni house during the summer which meant after rent, I had next to no money left over.

The bars and clubs were very expensive and it made going out less enjoyable. Also, the bouncers seem very arrogant and sexist. They would walk down the queue and pick out people they didn't like the look of, and told them to just go home. However I do not feel this is a reflection on my placement.

There may have been opportunities, however I did not explore these. I have many hobbies already and so did not seek anything else out. There was a gym that I would go to which was good. It was hard for me to adapt to the working life and so I did not have much energy to do anything else.