Undergraduate Review

I enjoyed my placement year at Pfizer. There were large number of other undergaduates also on placement which created a good atmosphere with the opportunity to socalise but this does depend on the site you are based at. It is also a lovely office and there is a strong emphasis on work/life balance and managing your own personal "energy" to be more productive at work, whatever that means for you!

Certain colleagues within my teams were really friendly and got to know me personally. I worked in a very small team and had limited interaction with the other larger teams that surround me in my work area. Some colleagues are very good at recognising your work and being friendly, others are not.

My managers were supportive of my university work and I had regular meetings to touch-base and discuss anything I needed to, either related to my personal life or work . However the support you were given depends entirely on your manager. There was no central oversight of the programme so there was a complete mix of experiences accross all the undergraduates and no designated person you could speak to if you had any issues that you felt you could not discuss with your manager. At the begining of my placement I struggled because my managers were both working remotely and not in the office on a day-to-day basis, this meant I didnt really have anyone to ask for quick questions and sometimes felt isolating.

Due to a massive reorganisation mid way through our placement there was signifcantly less work to do and I spent a signifcant amount of my time doing university work, which whilst I was greateful to be able to get ahead on this, it was not the purpose of me completing a placement year. My work was entirely project based and as a result, even post reorganisation, have some days with little work to do. On the other hand, I have days which many deadlines and have to prioirtise work to ensure i deliver it on time.

The tasks I completed (e.g. making powerpoint presentations, desk-based research, processing materials through our internal approval system, organising meetings) did not involve alot of responsibility and I did very little without discussing with my manager first, however, this is sometimes the nature of project-based work little day-to-day responsibilites that must be completed regularly.

There was no central oversight of the programme. With such a large number of undergrautes this resulted in a completely mixed experience of the placement year depending on what department you were in and the manager you had. Beyond the inital training period of a couple of weeks in September, there was no consisentcy between the placements and the opportunities you were offered. For example, there was not one rule as to whether undergaduates were allowed to work from home so some managers would say you had to be in all the time while others were incredibly flexible. Whilst the ability to work from home does depend on your job role there needs to be more consistency across all the roles.

The "investment" in personal training and development was dependent on your manager. There was limited training offered beyond mandatory training at the begining of the year was Priority Management training, with a limited number of spaces, and Yellow Belt Lean Six Sigma Training. The Yellow Belt training is a fantastic opportunity but only one training day, organised at late notice, meant I couldnt take part as I was on A/L that had been planned since I started.

Undergraduates are offered the opportunity to apply for 5 places on the graudate scheme. However, the sheme is only offered in sales and marketing and this is not something i want to persue. Due to the range of undergraduates roles, not just in sales and marketing, it is disappointing they do not offer any other graduate roles.

Due to the large number of undergraduates on placement at my site there was a good atmopshere amongst the fellow placement students and it was very social. I have made some really good friends this year and it has been fun to work with fellow placement student and live withg them too.

Being on the outskirts of London, it was slightly expensive and the night-life e.c.t depends on the area you chose to live in. However, it is a very short train ride into London and on an undergraudate salary affordable to live in the area but it is best to have a car to get from work otherwise you are limited to the bus!

We are offered 5 volunteering days which you can take throughout the year. This is a great opportunity to add something different to your CV and Pfizer has a STEM programme you can get involved in to deliver the different modules on drug discover and development to schools. It is also a good opportunity to network with colleagues from accross the business.