Development Quality Placement Student Review

I have had a great experience during my time at MSD. I was part of the company for 13 months during 2016 and 2017. Through working in a big pharmaceutical company I was able to gain insight not just into my department but also other functions across the company. We also got to visit other MSD sites across the UK.

I never felt like I was just “the student” during my year there were often times that my colleagues would come to me to help resolve queries they had with their work. I was also asked to stay on for an extra month to help train new members of my department.

The atmosphere at MSD was such that I could approach either my manager or my mentor at any time if I needed anything. I also had weekly meetings with my mentor to discuss my progress and any queries I had. My mentor was also able to provide guidance with University work I had to complete during my year.

The work load in my department would vary slightly from week to week. Overall, it was fairly busy but that is how I prefer it. If at times I had too much work, I was supported by other members of the department, and was able to reduce my workload if needed.

I was given the same responsibility as any other member of the department. One of the highlights of my year was being able to train other members of the department on certain job roles. This shows that not only was I valued but also I was trusted to train others.

During the year I had lots of opportunities to increase skills such as communication, analytical skills, initiative, presentation skills and much more. There was also the opportunity to have CV reviews and mock interviews with feedback which will be useful when applying for jobs after university. These transferrable skills will be very useful when finishing my degree and jobs after university.

MSD has a very friendly atmosphere, everyone is really approachable and willing to help and answer any questions I had. I had the chance to work with colleagues both on site and also at other MSD sites in Switzerland and America which is a great chance to get to know everyone.

Overall the placement scheme was organised well. There was an induction day set up for new students in Easter. This gave us the chance to meet other students that would be on placement and we were able to sort out other people to live with. During the year there were organised events for students such as the Department overviews, where we could find out about different departments both at our site and other sites, the opportunities to give presentations with feedback, visits to other MSD sites, and lunch with the leadership team.

I feel MSD was really invested in the development of the placement students. In my department I was given exposure to lots of different job types and I was also able to go on an externally run training course during my year. As students we were exposed to lots of different departments across the company such as travelling to see the manufacturing sites, going on sales visits and also had talks given to us by the different departments on site. We were also given opportunities to give presentations, and receive feedback on how to improve. I had a mock interview and CV review to help improve my application skills.

After graduating I will definitely be looking into jobs available at MSD as I think it is a great company to work for. I would be interested in coming back to my department if there is a space available but even if not I am interested in opportunities that other departments have to offer.

There are about 20 students on placements at MSD. Some of these commute from home but a lot move to the area. I lived in a house with other students which was great. We would socialise with other students in the evenings or weekends. I also went out for meals with my colleagues which was a nice way to team build.

As Hoddesdon is commuting distance to London the rent is more expensive than most areas but definitely still cheaper than living in London itself.

There are a few pubs and restaurants in Hoddesdon but there are not any nightclubs. But it is easy to get to London or other nearby towns with more active nightlives. As a lot of the students live in the area there is a nice social group anyway.

There is a gym on site which has classes after work and at lunch time. MSD also has badminton clubs once a week and football up to three times a week which I know a lot of the students went along too!