Research Scientist Review

Going into this placement I had big expectations, and I am happy to say that they were met. The people I met were very friendly and the work I did was very fun and interesting as well as rewarding as I could see the impact being made from the work I was doing.

My colleagues were super friendly and were happy to assist with any questions or problems I helped, along with other people outside of my team willing to help whilst also having warm and fun personalities. My team also included me in meetings giving me feedback and listening any opinions I had making me feel like one of them.

My supervisor was always around to give me advice and help and always made time to show me the ropes when using a new piece of equipment or technique whilst encouraging me to explore more areas of chemistry and motivate me to work harder and more efficiently. The line manager also kept interest in the work I was doing and provided advice along with maintaining a stream of work.

On average I was reasonably busy, though not too busy making the day stressful and unenjoyable - though a big factor in how busy I was, was set out by how much work I did as my supervisor set me targets and goal and then I could work on them at my own pace. There were some points were there was less work that I would have liked as given I only did a short placement there wasn't much I could do to fill any downtimes.

I was given quite a bit of responsibility as after the initial few weeks of getting the hang of the chemistry and techniques they mainly left me to my on devices to complete the work that they set out for me, and to do it a the level expected from GSK.

The skills learned will be invaluable during the rest of my degree, especially for the research project in my final year. I learned many practical skills from doing this which also helps tie in and give me a better understanding of the theory and ideas behind everything. From participating in meetings and such the social skills of portraying ideas will also be useful in the future.

The atmosphere in the lab was always very happy and chill, people were always about and talking to each other creating a very social atmosphere making it nice to work in. There were also daily tea breaks allowing for a chance for everybody to relax and all get together and catch up with each other.

It was clear that the group that I was in has had numerous placement/internship students before as my supervisor has all of the necessary formalities either dealt with or arranged as necessary so within the first few days everything was set up and I could start doing the work I signed up to do.

They clearly put a lot of resources into me being there as they would have had to pay my wages, but also for the time that my supervisor and other employees spent providing me with help and advice. They also gave me opportunities such as attending speeches and lectures along with problem sessions which were vert good.

Couldn't say anything for sure as working is a long way away in the future, but I would happily try and go back in the future to get a career at GSK as they seem to be a company with good values and people working for them, so I will have to see.

Cost of living was relatively cheap in stevenage, the rent and bills that I had to pay was essentially a weeks pay per month, leaving more than enough money to do whatever I wanted with be it socialising, saving along with living costs such as buying food etc. Also given I lived close to the site I didn't have to pay any money travelling.