Medicinal Chemist Review

Really enjoyed my placement with GSK. I was fortunate enough to be placed in a great team and there was a lot of help and support if things weren't going to plan.

There was a great working atmosphere and everyone was very helpful and treated you like a graduate - if you didn't know something it was ok to ask. There were lots of team meals and a party at christmas which helped to bond the team over the year. GSK also run a range of christmas festive games in which different labs compete.

Fantastic support was given by supervisor and the rest of the team. They were always open to questions whether it was about the work being carried out or about general advice on further education and career ideas.

I was fairly busy on a daily basis but it was manageable. Lab work was organised around attending team meetings and the weekly baking competition!

I think the key is you are given as much responsibility as you show you are able to cope with. There was a real drive to make you as productive as possible but equally if you were struggling it was possible to as for fewer targets. There was also the possibility to present at group meetings and talk the team through the work which had been done by your sub-team.

From various job applications and talking to tutors back at Uni everyone seems to believe that by having a year in industry I am immediately a lot more employable than your average graduate. This is regardless of the career i want to pursue - the year with GSK has improved my general employability skills as well as my knowledge of chemistry which will undoubtably help me in my final year of Uni.

Atmosphere in the lab was really good, everyone was very approachable and the team had a meal out together every month or so. There were also weekly baking competitions.

Very well organised. The transition between Uni and work was helped by the week spent at Bristol Uni labs helping the new placement students to practice the techniques they would use at GSK on a daily basis.

During my time with GSK i was able to attend various seminars given by external speakers and attend external medicinal chemistry conferences. I think a lot this depends on the department you are in and how happy your manager is for you to take an hour / a day out from the lab to attend these events.

Whilst the experience was great and i had always thought i would like to work in the pharma industry the year has made me realise that perhaps i would like to try something outside of chemistry.

The other students were very social - there were lots of nights out and various parties to go to.

Socialising was mainly done in london and so was fairly expensive. Living costs weren't too bad - rent was about £350 a month depending on which part of stevenage you lived in and how many were sharing the house.

Stevenage was ok but not exactly the nicest of places. Mostly people tended to head into London.

There were various local clubs & gyms to get involved with as well as a local hockey club.