Process Engineer Review

I would highly recommend this placement. It is an outstanding opportunity giving a real insight into the pharmaceutical industry, and enabling you to make a difference working on projects that will help millions of people. You learn so much so quickly and become an equal and relied upon member of your team. The placement teaches you how to work in a large organisation, how it runs, and what is required to excel. Everyone in the team was very friendly and the atmosphere at work was very positive.

I was valued like every other member of the team. It took a while to settle in and learn how everything worked but after a couple of months I was able to contribute as much as everyone else and my opinion and ideas were valued by my colleagues. The team would rely upon me to get work done, and by giving me these important projects I felt very valued.

My supervisor was very supportive and taught me a great deal throughout the year. My manager and the team were very hands on at the beginning of the placement whilst I was still learning how everything worked, but as the year progressed they stepped back and let me run and own my projects.

This would fluctuate depending on the project I was working on. Generally I was always kept very busy but there were a couple of times as one project ended before I started work on the next that I found myself struggling to find work to do for a few days. When the coronavirus pandemic began and lockdown started, I moved to working from home 4/5 days a week. Some of this time at home became quite slow with limited amounts of work to do as my role was majority a lab based role - exceptional circumstances so this was very understandable!

I was given a great deal of responsibility. By the end of my year I was making the majority of the decisions on steps to make in my projects. I would present my work to keep the team up to date with what I had done. I organised the acquisition of some new lab equipment and developed procedures and methods to operate and use this equipment. The projects I was working on were related to key medicines and vaccines in GSK's pipeline so my work felt important and worthwhile.

I developed presentational skills during update meetings; communicational skills talking to suppliers, the team and to other sites; problem solving skills working in the lab; time management and organisation skills to finish lab work during the day; networking skills talking to other engineers in GSK to learn about their careers; many more... The skills developed throughout the year will be useful for all future jobs.

Generally very positive. My team and extended office were very positive and helpful. The atmosphere was rarely negative even when things had gone wrong.

The placement was well set up. There was induction training right at the beginning, followed by a two week overlap with the previous IP (industrial placement student), who was able to teach me how the department ran and what was expected of me. The work placement would vary year by year in this role as is very dependant on what the departments projects are.

There were a number of development opportunities throughout the year. For example you could visit other sites, attend talks, learn about the roles of different employees, swap with another placement student for a day/week. During my year I visited GSK HQ, and Stevenage with the option to visit more had coronavirus not stopped all travel. We even had a Q&A session with the CEO at the end of the year.

Being successful during a placement year means your manager can recommend you to the Future leaders programme (FLP) which is the GSK grad scheme. Despite the recommendation it is still very competitive so I am unsure whether I will get a position. There are a few other direct entry schemes that can be applied for but again will be competitive. Being a placement student does not guarantee a job, but it definitely helps.

Certainly during the beginning it was very positive and everyone went out a lot whilst everyone was getting to know each other. This slowed down a bit during the year. There were 17 placement students in GSK Worthing so lots of people to get to know. As the year went on I spent more time with my department rather than all the other students.

I was down at GSK Worthing. It was about standard for the South, greater London prices. You earn the London living wage so it is enough to comfortably live off. Housing can be pricy but it depends what you look for. There are a few houses of 6 available for groups of placement students. Clubbing and bar prices are pretty standard.

In Worthing there are 3 clubs which are fairly decent. There is a much busier nightlife scene in Brighton which is a 20min train journey away (although note there are no trains home after 12 and ubers are v. expensive if on surge!). There are a number of very nice bars in the town centre.

The department would organise events after work, for example pub visits or paddle boarding or other sporting events. With friends, it is 20mins to brighton and a direct train into london so there are always things to do. There is a cheap cinema in the town centre, a decent range of shops, and the beach is very nice in the summer.