Process Chemist Review

Enjoyed a lot. Was kept busy most of the time in the lab. As I was on a manufacturing site I had to communicate with a lot of people in different departments which was a good experience and I saw many different aspects of the company. A refreshing break from a research based environment at university.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. I was one of only five placement students on the site. I worked in a different department to three of these students. This meant I was very much a valued member of the team and not just another student. My opinions and ideas were always considered and I was trusted with work of high importance.

Wherever high levels of theoretical or practical knowledge and experience were required I always felt comfortable to speak with my line manager. On occasion they not only supported and gave me confidence in my ideas but added value to my work by suggesting additional experiments I could carry out. My manager was always happy to help complete application forms as a reference.

This varied. There were times I stayed later than usual to complete experiments and I may be busy for a whole week straight working on high priority tasks. This was stressful at times but rewarding. There were some times where work was slow. For example, waiting on other members of teams to provide samples to begin work on. Sometimes there were lulls in work which meant I could spend a few days straight in the office working on documents.

High levels at all times. I was given the task to test material for a new process on the site. This was very important because results would impact the future supply of product to the patient. I was trusted with work which needed a fast turnaround and required reliable results. I was also given the responsibility of being the custodian for two pieces of apparatus which were heavily relied on.

Practically very much so. I was exposed to many new skills I would not have seen in an undergraduate lab. I dealt with large scale equipment and enjoyed the work I did in the lab. I dealt with highly hazardous regents which also gave me an increased understanding of safety. Theoretically I had some challenges on more open ended tasks when planning work where my chemistry knowledge was required. Overall however, I did not have to use my chemistry knowledge extensively. It was useful to have knowledge of the chemistry occurring in an experiment but I would not say it was essential due to the fact most processes were already written. therefore I would say theoretically my placement has not benefitted me theoretically for my last year at university.

Perfect balance! People worked hard but there was always plenty of laughs and chats. Everyone was very social and we often got together for food after work etc. some people liked to bake and bring in cake which is always a bonus! There was always a close connection between the members of the team. I will definitely miss the office I worked in.

I had to write a project report for my university during my placement year based on my work. Due to the fact that there was no specific extended project set up for me when I arrived on placement (and I worked on many different shorter projects) it made it difficult to write an extended piece of work at the end of the year. This is partly due to the specific nature of what my university required from my report (many people may not have struggled at all). But in my case it would have been beneficial to have an extended project to work on. However, I would not want to change anything I did on my placement!

I was trained in GMP and GxP which are very useful skills to be aware of for any future career in manufacturing. I went on many training courses which enhanced my knowledge of the business and of the pharmaceutical industry in general. I went on other courses such as hazardous reagent training and numerous IT courses.

Personally the location of the companies sites do not fit particularly well with my requirements for the future. However I would love to work for the company again. They have fantastic values and they are very generous to their employees. The company has many different departments and I have noticed people moving between departments. This shows it is also relatively easy to move between areas of the company which is appealing. The graduate scheme is a good scheme.

I got on well with most of the students and we often went out and had meals together etc. The group from the office liked to go out for lunch on a Friday. My team went out for food about once a month which was also very nice. All in all, the atmosphere was very good and everyone got on. I was nervous when starting because there were only 5 students but this turned out not to be a problem.

Very cheap. There wasn't too much to do in my location so I was less tempted to spend. My rent was quite cheap after splitting with another student and we took it in turns to drive the 10 mile journey to work to fuel was also cheap. The pub we used to socialise in was cheap and did good food. Overall it was not an expensive place to be unless you wanted it to be.

Pretty poor. This didn't bother me too much but for someone who loves to go out, this location isn't for you. The small town I worked in had a club but it really wasn't worth going. The pubs were ok but not great. You had to travel about 40 miles to the nearest night out. And unless you plan on leaving early to catch the last train you need to sort somewhere to stay.

In relation to opportunities for sports etc. with work there were almost none. But again this didn't bother me too much. I knew a few people who like to do different sports and activities but none of the clubs were particularly big of competitive. Not very good for people who are in loads of societies at university.