Industrial Placement Process Measurement Technology Engineer Review

A placement at GSK has given me great industrial experience within the pharmaceutical industry. However, often I have had to deal with conflicts.

The value of the work I undertook whilst on placement gave me confidence that other colleagues had faith in myself to complete the work.

Not enough support was given for the first half of the year during the time there was the most amount of work.

50:50 split between days being extremely busy and not enough time in a working day to complete the work (came with how much responsibilty you had) and other days were there was hardly much to be done and you had to find work to do.

A lot, I had taken on work from a previous employee. Not the normal work load for a placement student but the value of the work to the company and experience taken from it was priceless.

The increased knowledge and understanding I have gained from my specific area of work and increased management, communication and team skills I can apply with any future employer.

At the start of my placement the atmosphere was fun and energetic but tension grew and the atmosphere could sometimes become unbearable causing it very difficult to work within my own team. Near the end of my placement the atmosphere did improve slightly.

Being an organised person helped during placement especially when managing my project. Organisation only came during my project work rather than the set up/start of the work.

Training was not adequately given for my project work and not completed in advance. I gained more knowledge about my project by learning on my own. Training for other work in the event of needing to support another department was quickly and more efficiently achieved.

Completing a placement at GSK provided me with the opportunity to be fast-tracked into employment post graduation. Having this possibility offers a chance to work in a different division amongst GSK and gain further work experience.

Placement was a great opportunity to meet new people and other placement students in the same situation as myself. Many of us made the most of the social scene available and have become good friends.

Depending on the area you have moved from, the area were I worked could be considered very expensive to live and socialise. However, earning a wage has helped with the cost of living and still being able to have money left over.

There was not as much choice, however, was always a good night out even if it was the same place we attended.

Other than the social/sports club and gym within work, there was not many other activities you could get involved in.