Medicinal Chemist IP Review

GSK was a fantastic place for industrial placements as it provide both a good practicle experiance as well as making you feel part of the group with team building events ect.

I felt that my ideas and work were valued and as I progressed through the year I was given more responsibilities which really help to make me feel a valued part of the team.

My supervisor was fantastic answering all my questions and guiding me through the whole year. He made this year especially enjoyable and interlectually fruitful.

I found that you had responsibility for your own work load. If you were bored there was always work to do if you ask about.Equally if you had too much on people would help or understand if other pieces of work were prioratised.

The amount of responsibility increases over the year generally at the start I was mostly doing what I was told but by the end I was reponsible for developing my own ideas and operating relatively independantly. I found that the process was very self driven, if you wanted more responsibility you could by taking on different projects or by making your own decisions.

I feel that the skills both industry specific and transferable skills will be of use through out my career. GSK really help to develop you as a person in the work place as well as as a chemist.

As a lab chemist I found it very enjoyable. Everybody got along very well and it was great fun.

From the bigining there was lots of communication as part of this there was a familirisation day where all the student on site met which gave us the oppotunity to sort out accomodation and be inducted.

I felt alot was invested in us and we were treated as an equal part of the work force. They provided regular lectures and workshops on both science and work place skills. As well as this there were a number of team building events and events for networking.

However much I would like to come back and work at GSK I got the feeling that in the near future this will not be possible as there is little employment oppotunities at the company.

There was alot of placement students at the site in Stevenage which was just enough to know most people. Everybody got on well and seemed approachable and there were events going on most weekends and even during the week which made the experiance even more enjoyable.

The cost wasnt too high if you dont mind spoons. However London being the closest city could be a bit costly for nights out.

Stevenage has a few bars and 1 club which was normally quite quiet. However London is only 30 min by train away and we had a few nights out there.

I did not find alot on in stevenage. However GSK has a sports centre open till 9pm so if you enjoyed football or volleyball ect there were oppotunities there.