Industrial Trainee Review

I have enjoyed my placement as an Industrial Trainee (IT) in Pfizer a lot because Pfizer has a very good atmosphere. People work hard and play hard. While working, I could learn from their way of thinking, efficiency, as well as experiencing the pressure faced by people working in a pharmaceutical industrial sector. While out of working time, such as tea time or social activity, colleagues in Pfizer are really friendly and fun to be with so I could relax myself and have a great time. Pfizer has provided me a well-balanced environment to engage both academically and socially.

The company was huge and colleagues in different departments have different visions. Projects assigned to industrial trainees are quite specific to the department they are in. Therefore, it is difficult to get hold of everyone. Yet, colleagues within the same department would have great interest in the projects that the ITs are doing. They would come to the ITs project presentation and poster session. Throughout the year, they would give advice when we faced problems. Also, since the ITs spent most of the time doing the project, we had more recent and fresher ideas in the area that we are working on. Colleagues would sometimes discuss matters of their project related to our field of investigation. The poster that I presented was taken by one of the colleagues to present in a conference. Therefore, I felt very much valued in our department during my placement.

The project I did was a totally new field to me so I received tremendous support from my supervisor to build up a good foundation for understanding the subject matter. However, the support was not the spoon-feeding style. I was given a brief introduction, which guided me to explore the subject by myself. From developing the experiments and analysing the results, I was given much freedom that I could decide how the project would proceed. Every week, my supervisor and I would meet, when I discussed my plan and ask for advice. My supervisor would provide suggestions for the problems I was facing and steer my direction when I was a lost.

I was busy on most days because of the nature of my project. My project involved both lab and computational work because it spanned across two fields of knowledge. More of my time would be in the lab because sample preparation could take over two weeks and one measurement would take two hours. The instrument manipulation was very intricate and could easily go wrong. If I was conducting experiment for a on-going internal project, I sometimes need to to work over-time due to time constraints. Out of the lab, I would spend time translating the result output to quantitative data, predicting properties of the sample with computational tools and reading journals. Throughout the week, there would be meetings with other colleagues. Sometimes, I would attend talks hosted by Pfizer, who invited experts in a certain field to share their thoughts. Therefore, a day passed could pass quickly when I was occupied with lots of work.

I was given the most of the responsibility of my project. I needed to plan my time accordingly in order to plan my experiments for having sufficient data to present in my university report. Other than my report, I was given responsibility to conduct experiments on some Pfizer products, whose results would constitute part of the quality control report of that product. In this case, my supervisor would provide much greater support in terms of data analysis. Lastly, I was given a chance to organise and hold trainings of a relatively new instrument for colleagues and apprentices.

The project I did was in a totally different field of Science so the knowledge I acquired could not add up to my degree. However, there are numerous transferable skills I attained that are helpful. For example, I can search for the information I need efficiently by typing the right key words and using the appropriate data base. I can also learn and adapt other people's work for my purposes in planning experiments or facing experimental difficulties. There are many more to list but the ability to work under pressure and time constraint and the experience of connecting with a variety of people from different background are the most valuable.

Our department was full of nice people. The office is an open plan area therefore sometimes people would stop by your desk and have a light-hearted chat. Therefore, it is often that you could hear people giggling or laughing. Also, when some of the colleagues visited other countries, they would bring back snacks from the country to share with us. Moreover, some colleagues would bake cake even when it was not their birthday. I generally feel that people are very approachable and they would not bother to offer you help unless they are really busy. The great bonus is that most of them are tolerable to sensible mischief and they would laugh with the younger ones.

For me, it was well-organised unless it was related to things that my supervisor could not control. The induction, the introduction to my project and lab trainings ran smoothly. However, the instrument that I would be using was broken down. It took quite a long time to figure out what the problem was so the start of experimental work was delayed. Towards the end of my placement, my supervisor was not available to supervise me so I was supervised by another colleague, who shared the same expertise as my supervisor. The transition was smooth and I gained sufficient help for my project.

During the placement, I was treated as a full-time employee so I have access to opportunities open to all colleagues. I was invited to events hosted by Pfizer, such as seminars featuring academia, events featuring technical companies and annual celebration events. These allow me to expose to the-state-of-the-art knowledge and technology in the field, Pfizer culture and delicious treat. In terms of my project, although it has lower priority than the internal project, I could have training and access to technologies I needed if it was available, which also applied to materials. One part of my instrument was very fragile and prone to damage. (It was quite expensive as well) I broke that part a few times unintentionally and my supervisor was not mad at me. Pfizer also covered the cost. I genuinely appreciate it because I would not have to worry and carry the burden of paying the cost. This allows me to concentrate on my project whole-heartedly.

During my placement year, most jobs were offered through a contractor agency. Therefore, I think it would be the most possible way of joining the company in the short term. There are quite a few colleagues who were industrial trainees before. However, most of them, as well as other colleagues, attained a PhD before joining Pfizer. Therefore, I believe pursing further study beyond an undergraduate degree would be more appealing.

Every now and then, there would be house party involving all the placement students and some colleagues. Most often would be having meal together in small groups because it was easier to organise. We had a few birthday lunches with some colleagues, Indian dinner with colleagues and take way dinner with other placement students. Apart from enjoying food together, we have outings to food festivals, beer festivals, bonfire night, cinemas, shopping malls, the beach and skatepark.

The town I lived in and most of the other students lived in was relatively cheap compared to London. Although I was unable to find a house to share due to personal reason, I could support my expenditure on a one-bedroom flat, bills, food and entertainment with my salary just right. Entertainment site in town so very limited so I did not spend a lot on this aspect. The local farmer markets and the Aldi nearby could provide quality and affordable food. Also, meals in restaurant was not highly priced.

Since it was not a student area, the Nightlife in the town I was living was more for elder people. Night out with other placement students would usually be in another city, which has a university and is located 20 minutes away by train. Therefore, we seldom have a night out because of the transportation cost and inconvenience. We tend to go to a bar in town or just have a house party.

Apart from work, we could devote some of our time to voluntary work in STEM event as a STEM ambassador representing Pfizer or in charity events co-hosted by Pfizer and local charity. On the other hand, unlike studying in university, I could really enjoy my time after office hour. Therefore, I have quite a lot of free time to do what I want to do, such as going to the gym, cooking and learning a new language. However, the town did not have much to offer. Therefore, I usually needed to travel to neighbouring town for non-home-based activity.