R&D IT Industrial Placement Review

The placement definitely served the purpose of opening my eyes to the way the world of business worked. It also helped me figure out the career direction that I wanted. One of the most important questions I was asked by my manager was "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" To which I replied, "running my own company." From then on, he began setting me tasks that would give me the experience of dealing with the intricacies of running and delivering on projects.

Although you can there's only so much that you make a placement student feel valued, I felt like GSK go through much effort to enable feel less like students and more like business men/women. We receive invites to department events; I hardly attended, but nevertheless the opportunity was there.

Initially my manager allocated 3 weekly meetings with me, which I could use to ask any questions and provide him updates. At first, I didn't always understand my bosses tasks, and commands. I spent a decent amount of time wondering if I was doing the right thing. That's why those meetings were important. Eventually I got used to his style of work, and overtime I reduced weekly meetings to once a week, as I became more independent and relied less on meetings with him; opening up time for us to work on other things.

It varied. At the start of the placement I wasn't very busy, but my manager was very much interested in keeping me busy so he always asked about my work load. And assigned me tasks based on how much I'd got going on. I like to work fast, so sometimes I'd run out of work; and create my own tasks; which very much pleased my boss, even though he declined some of them. It pays to be proactive. The job is flexi-time, so there aren't constraints on your work time (though it's best to work 10-12pm, and 2-4pm).

Quite a lot. My manager was keen to make me feel like a aspiring CEO. My tasks ranged from striking a deal with a new company, to developing innovative technology, and the good old documentation. A lot of the time I just worked on tasks from the boss, but occasionally I was allowed to do my own thing.

My confidence grew astronomically due to this experience. I realised the world of business isn't so difficult, and can be quite messy (as humanity tends to be). I learned the benefits of being outcome independent, yet being decisive enough to put all that is necessary into place to ensure success. Don't expend more effort than you need; but don't neglect what you need to do. Emotional management is a skill I had to further cultivate to enable me work to machine-like levels (occasionally). I also experimented with being true to myself; I didn't just do everything my manager told me; I weighed it against my own wisdom, and acted accordingly (even it meant not doing exactly as he says); a few times I got the necessary results. When I didn't, I had learned a lesson, and wouldn't repeat the same mistake. That's what life is about after all. Enjoy uncertainty; when something feels uncomfortable, that's when you know you're growing. You'd be surprised how capable you really are.

Voices in the air, laughter in that corner, phone calls, skype meetings, sports discussions. Just an everyday workplace. I worked at headquarters, so we had open floor plan. We could easily spot and walk up to anyone to have a chat.

Didn't particularly know what I was getting into before starting the placement. I had to figure out as I got there. Also we actually work for a scientific recruitment company (SRG), whom we have to get our payments and holidays from. However, they do a good job of keeping us informed,

My boss placed me on an ITIL course to help me gain better understanding of the company structure. Cost quite a bit of money; he was willing to place me on another course but I declined this time. My manager was very much invested in making sure I learned something of worth to aid in my future career decisions.

As a placement you have two ways of making it onto permanent staff: you could apply for their grad scheme, which is one of the best in the UK; or apply for a role directly. I chose neither, due to my entrepreneurial dreams; regardless I'm well aware that GSK has very good career prospects for students who work with them. You just have to be ready to shine when you have the opportunity and make valuable contacts.

Of course! We IP had our own groups and new-letters informing us of IP events.

I was lucky to live next to a student accommodation 5 mins from work. The price was cheap for London standards (£625 per month).

I don't do nightlife; work, work, read, read, repeat. But Brentford is not known for nightlife; it's a business area with office buildings everywhere. My flat-mate routinely went to central London, but occasionally to a Brentford pub.

Though I hardly went or participated. There was constant invite to events: sports, boat parties, site tours, Christmas events, voluntary events, etc.