R&D Trainee Review

My placement gave me a chance to really put into practice the practical skills and knowledge I had acquired in my degree, mainly organic chemistry. It let me see what it was like working as a chemist day to day and how the work in R&D affects what happens in chemical production. Taking a year out to earn, travel and work on my German was also a plus - especially with a Swiss salary! There were times my adequate German wasn't enough and was overwhelming but I have learned a lot of industry terminology in both English and German now!

It was mixed. Sometimes I felt I was the annoying intern asking silly questions but other times people were impressed with my work and how much I had achieved in the time I had been with the company. On some occasions my work was overlooked e.g. samples not given priority for analysis even if I'd submitted them before my colleague. People made differing degrees of effort to get to know me and if they wanted to help me practise my German or help them practise their English.

Advice and support was always given when I asked for it. I also enjoyed the odd careers advice pep-talk with my supervisor.

More often than not I didn't have enough to do. There was a lot of leaving reactions to stir and it got to a point in the project where there were too many people on the team and as the intern I got the last odd jobs. I had uni work I could always get on with but it took me until about 9 months in before I replied honestly to the question "Is that enough for you to do?". I overcompensated by trying to juggle too much a few weeks before Christmas and overloaded myself which affected the quality of my work. Lesson learned.

In my main project a lot at first. I was responsible for implementing and optimising 9 steps of a 20 step synthesis and was responsible for getting as far through the synthesis as I could. I completed the majority of this work alone.

When you're at uni it's easy to become rusty with practical skills with only a few weeks in a lab and a few months summer break between academic years. I got to use analytical techniques I had only heard about or didn't get the chance to study. A solid year of working in a lab has cemented good practical skills and helped me better understand a chemist's role in the pharma industry. While I currently see myself moving away from pure chemistry slightly after graduation I know I could certainly take on a role similar to this in the future.

My desk was in a lab that always seemed to be busy. The atmosphere was a good balance of relaxed but people still got on with the work they had to do. I think if my German was better I could have joined in the banter a bit more.

Considering this was the first time the company was taking on students I was largely impressed. I heard about it through my university, the interview process was straightforward and after securing the placement the company were very helpful regarding finding accommodation and preparing for life in Switzerland. I was also given a choice as to the type of project I'd like to work on which I hear is rare. The only hiccup was being given enough work to do when projects were delayed due to reasons outside the company's control. I did no lab work for the first six weeks but I did get a lit review for uni done.

Overall I was trained in all the techniques I needed to carry out my work. There was an established overview of all company departments already in place for all new employees. When my supervisor wasn't too busy I did get a chance to see my reaction in production etc. I think there could have been more of this and perhaps a little bit of rotation, spending a couple of days in QC etc. instead of spending all my time in R&D and just getting a short talk about how to submit samples and a quick tour of the QC lab.

People often asked if I'd be back. Although a permanent move to Switzerland is not currently on the cards I feel like I could get back in touch should an opportunity arise that I was interested in. Because it is a contract company I've been able to work on projects for client companies which could also prove useful if I found myself applying for roles at their establishments.

Well, there were only two of us. Outside of chemistry we were quite different so were happy enough to chat at work and on the train to/from placement but outside of this we didn't really hang out. There was the odd staff social including Christmas meals and a BBQ on the roof of our lab!

It's Switzerland so pretty expensive. I found a very cheap apartment though (CHF 450 per month including bills. Typical rents were double that.) I didn't use the canteen (CHF 15 per day) and took my own lunch. I probably spent CHF 200 or so on food per month. Dining out and going to bars was a rare treat, typically CHF 25-30 per person for a main meal and wine is a good deal.

Didn't see much. Too expensive. Basel is build around the Rhine though so many evenings were spend lounging by the river and there seemed to be a number of temporary bars open when it was nice. Going out isn't really my scene anyway.

I joined a local international church and an international student group at the local university. I thought about joining an orchestra/choir but feared my German wouldn't be that great.