Global Regulatory Strategy Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement year as an Undergraduate Global Regulatory Strategist with Pfizer. I was placed at the Walton Oaks site which is such a wonderful, modern building which I was really happy to attend every day. The company atmosphere is amazing, everyone is so friendly and supportive and eager to see you succeed. The people that work at Pfizer are truly brilliant and inspiring and it has been a pleasure to learn from them.

My individual team consisted of 9 colleagues, including myself and one other undergraduate. I felt extremely valued by the fellow colleagues in my team as they really made an effort to get to know both of us undergraduates on a personal level, and understand our career aspirations so they could do anything they could to help us progress. They regularly gave us praise and reminded us that we were appreciated within the team and that they were grateful for all of our contributions. I couldn't have worked for a better, more encouraging and supportive team.

My manager was very supportive throughout my entire placement, I was a big priority even when she was super busy with other important work. We had catch-ups every week to provide support and answer any of my questions, and she always took the time to sit down with me and thoroughly explain things. She also took the time to organise presentations and meetings with other colleagues in the business to broaden my knowledge of the industry and pursue potential alternative career prospects.

I was quite busy on a daily basis, with enough work to keep me occupied for the whole day. However, my manager would always check that I wasn't getting too overwhelmed, and there was always lots of support so that I never felt too overrun with work. I received work within my team, but also had opportunities to work for other teams within my department, which helped to keep me busy even when work was quiet within my team.

During my placement I was given the responsibility to handle projects independently with minimum hand-holding from my manager, however, the support was always there should I need it and I was never left entirely alone. Everything I did was checked and approved by managers of course, but I felt my manager had complete confidence in my ability to complete tasks. I was made to feel confident and competent enough to take the lead on projects and manage other colleagues.

The skills I developed whilst on my placement year massively assisted me in my degree studies in my final year of my degree. I was much more disciplined and had greater time management skills which aided me in completing coursework ahead of time and preparing better for exams. I also had massively improved my communication and presenting skills which aided me as I had several presentations to do in my final year. I also developed my team-working skills which helped me in team project work and labs.

The company invested massively in my training and development throughout my whole placement year. The company runs a 'Business of Science' programme which is tailored for undergraduates to learn about every area of the business and pharmaceutical industry and receive a certificate at the end after completing a short exam. They also ran a YellowBelt Lean SixSigma programme which is an externally recognised business qualification and costs quite a lot of money to do independently.

Future employment prospects are very appealing within the organisation. During your placement year it is clear that the company is investing in you and training you for a future career within the company. They also run the graduate scheme which is exclusively open to Pfizer undergraduates and is a great opportunity to enter the company again post-graduation. They encourage you to explore the company and see what career path may suit you best, and encourage you to apply for entry level jobs for after graduation.

The social scene at Pfizer is amazing. There was about 65 undergraduates during my placement year, who all tend to live in the same area. This made the social scene very similar to at university, living and socialising in the same temporary living area close to work. Being at the Walton Oaks site in Surrey which is very close to London, there was also a brilliant social scene due to living so close to the big city.

Cost of living was relatively expensive with it being so close to London, however, the wage that you get for the year as an undergraduate was more than enough to cover living expenses for the year. The company also offers a shares scheme to help you save some of your wage money throughout the year. The site also does what they can to help, running a free bus service for travel to the site and having subsidised food in the canteen.

The nightlife in the small town I lived in for my year which was close to work was decent, with about 3 clubs in the town and a few bars. However, the main perk was that the placement was so close to London which obviously has an amazing breadth of nightlife. It was super easy to get trains and tubes in and out of London, and we were able to make the most of living so close to London for the nightlife.