Modelling and Translational Biology Mathematician Review

The placement was challenging and put my skills to the test, which at times was hard but the alternative (not being challenged) would be a waste of a year. I am unsure whether it is the right career for me and there were some parts of the placement I did not enjoy but it was a good way of discovering this. Overall the placement was good.

Very welcoming and I was treated as an equal not just a placement student who was given all the menial jobs like making drinks! It was good to be able to use my degree skills, that were in a different area to their knowledge, to look at things in a slightly different way.

Asking for help from supervisors was quite intimidating at the beginning, but I soon realised they were more than happy to help with anything I needed, even the little things. We had regular meetings with our supervisors who made sure they were up to date with what we were working on and although it was our choice in which direction we wanted the project to go in, they were very good at guiding us.

Days varied, I only worked on one project for my 6 month placement so time management was entirely my responsibility. Some days were made up of meetings which meant I had to work harder the next day because of the time lost in meetings but on the whole I was busy enough to keep me occupied but not too busy that it was stressful. However, as I was working on a single project, if I became stuck at any stage then it would be hard to find things to do until the issue was sorted.

My role involved researching an area that has never really been investigated by the company, so I had responsibility in a sense it was my job to work out whether this area is something that is worth looking into further and how useful it would be for the company. However I didn't feel like I had any day-to-day responsibilities.

I feel I've learnt more about what it means to work as a graduate and know more about office etiquette and what is required when working for an international company, it has made the prospect of graduating and going into full-time graduate employment a lot less daunting. It has given me a good insight into one area in which I could use my degree, and given me a better idea as to what I want from a career.

There were 5 other people in the office and at times it was very quiet when everyone was busy but other times there was always someone to chat with and have a laugh. Nobody in the office was very serious or boring, so it was a good environment to work in.

There wasn't much notice between being officially offered the placement and the start date so it was a bit of a rush to get everything sorted out, e.g. accommodation. Also, although they had an idea of what they wanted us to do, there was no clear plan. It was kind of up to us to carve a role for ourselves in the team.

We did several training courses and more were open to us, mainly the basic things such as using IT resources responsibility, fair employment etc. These were basically common sense and weren't that much use, more of a formality. However if I became aware of a training course that I was particularly interested in and wanted to go to, they would be as accommodating as possible.

There hasn't been a discussion as to the possibilities of a job after I graduate, but GSK is a big company that employ a lot of graduates so the fact that when I graduate, if I choose to work at GSK I will have 6 months work experience with them, which would definitely be looked upon favourably.

As I was only on a 6 month placement, starting in March, all the other placement students had been in the company for about 7 or 8 months so had already established friendships and so even though they were nice it was very difficult to integrate with them. Our other colleagues were very different in age from us, so the social scene wasn't great.

I was a student in quite an expensive area so compared to that, the area that I worked in was relatively cheap. The rent I paid on a flat was very reasonable and so there are probably cheaper areas to live and work but I had no complaints!

I worked in a small town with only a few pubs, which meant that nightlife was pretty much non-existent unless you went to the nearby towns which were between 5 and 10 minutes away on the train. It wasn't ideal but wasn't a huge deal as i found nightlife as a placement student wasn't as important as nightlife as an ordinary student.

There were a few local things to do, there is a sports and social club that held events like a film club but I chose not to get involved in much. There was a community fun day which I took part in, although this was organised by work it was something different and was good fun.