Data Analyst Review

Would do it all over again without thinking twice! This year has taught me many technical skills that will be incredibly valuable in my career, taught me how to present myself with fellow professionals. Overall, this year has transformed me from a very reserved individual to a confident and positive person - for which I'm massively grateful to GSK for.

Everyone in my team and outside my team are incredibly friendly and supportive. 2 months into my placement, my role developed and transitioned into a new team - in which we spent 2 days at a GSK owned off-site location to develop our relationship and knowledge of each members' capabilities.

There was never a moment in time where I didn't feel like I had my manager's support. I had bi-weekly 1:1 sessions with my manager so that we're in constant communication as to how my placement is going and where I can improve. I was also given guidance on how to progress in my career and the skills I need to do so.

My manager has been great in helping me learn how to maintain a balanced workload across the year - sometimes you have to say no! GSK provide a great flexible working policy where you can adjust the hours you work in the day based on your workload/extra curricular activities/responsibilities. This helps massively in balancing work and personal life.

It took only 2 months into my placement to become an owner of a new project that proved to be a huge success to the business, and will be continued by the next placement student after me. Branching from this, I have earned the trust of my team for them to depend on me for multiple complex tasks like attending meetings/calls with senior employees as the team's representative.

Technical skills included coding in SQL, Qlik, R, SPSS. Learning how to use Excel at an advanced level will all be skills that will make me very employable in the future. More importantly, this placement has taught me how to behave in a working environment, and how to speak to different people to create and maintain relationships.

Visually, GSK House is very colourful and vibrant. There is a sense of energy and positivity in the workplace which drives you to produce good work. Every week my department gather together for 30 minutes of 'tea time' where we take a break from work, catch up and eat cakes made from fellow colleagues.

Began with a steady influx of induction modules online to make me more aware of the lifestyle, culture and expectations an employee has working for GSK. I very soon was assigned tasks in Excel and QlikView to help me develop my skills to then later own a project and return valuable pieces of work to the business.

From very early on, I was lucky to have picked many skills up very quickly. I was constantly given challenges that I enjoyed completing successfully that helped me develop my all of my skills. I've been told explicitly from multiple members of my team that they would like to have me back working with them once I graduate. Positive and encouraging conversations as such kept me engaged and motivated to produce my best work.

Massively! I decided not to go for the multiple number of graduate programmes GSK offer as it did not align with my career aspirations. And so, the only thing stopping my team from offering me a permanent job after I graduate is the fact that I want to study for a masters degree. ?By the time I graduate, the team's dynamics and requirements would change dramatically for them to offer me a concrete contract.

GSK have a society called IP Unite - of which the committee are all placement students. They held multiple events throughout the year, including boat parties; nights out in London; weekly football/netball sessions; trips to manufacturing sites and many more. A lot of placement students join together everyday to have lunch in the canteen - which has brought us all together more.

As GSK House is not located in central London, prices in most places around and inside of work are not too bad. I live locally in north west London, so I have a lot of money by not having to pay rent - which is fairly expensive in this area of London.

From what I am aware of, there are no clubs around the workplace that are open till late at night. However, there are many pubs in the area that are very popular with GSK employees, such as The Globe and The Weir. These places are great for a social setting after a long day at work (food at the Globe is fantastic).

Volunteering is a big thing at GSK, there are so many opportunities where you can take part in events for charity inside the office, as well as outside. I was a volunteer at the WellChild Awards that GSK are a proud sponsor of - they support less privileged children and reward those who have achieved exceptional things.