Cell Biologist (Industrial Placement Students) Review

I absolutely loved my placement with GSK. The Respiratory department I worked in, created a very warm and welcoming environment that I was not expecting. The co-workers are true professionals, very open, extremely approachable and ready to offer help even at the expense of their own time. The work environment is one that genuinely facilitates your development.

I was very pleasantly surprised to be well received by everyone in my department. Even though I was only an IP student, I was never treated only as such, I felt I was an integral member, part of the team, respected and made to fell confident of my scientific capabilities.

I had a great relationship with my supervisor. She was a true mentor for me this year, giving me support and guidance both in and outside of the lab. She was very open to offer me help and teach me new skills, and later on offer me support by discussing the direction of my project.

My project was slightly different from what everyone else got, in the sense that the project I worked on was more focussed, involving only a few people. As such, I carried the weight of the entire biology side of our chemical-biology project, under the watchful eye of my supervisor. I found this to be an amazing opportunity to develop and perform, because of the important responsibility I had. For this reason I was very busy throughout my placement, perhaps more so than fellow students. I personally loved this, despite having to work more. Careful planning and efficiency made sure I felt like everything was in perfect balance - I would not have had it any other way.

I believe this placement year has been extraordinary in terms of the training I received and the skills I developed, both in and out of the lab. This experience will not only help me in the final year of my degree, but it will pave the way for my scientific career. Having the choice to do such a year in industry during University, and choosing not to do it is the biggest mistake one could make. Without this year in industry I would have no idea what I am doing, even if I held a BSc degree, because of the lack of exposure to laboratory work, because of a lack of understanding of the work opportunities out there and because of a lack of transferrable skills.

The atmosphere was always very relaxed, professional, it facilitated me conducting my work, despite working in open offices, which I was worried about in the beginning. I was pleasantly surprised by the general atmosphere of these open offices, despite the apparent lack of privacy one might experience. Everyone else seemed to enjoy this and the atmosphere it created.

My department had been organising placements like mine for a number of years prior to my arrival, so they had a very good idea how to organise everything, from integrating the student into the team, offering them assistance with projects, taking their feedback, organising off work-events, so on and so forth.

I received the same training that any new employee would, and more, specifically tailored to help me smoothly integrate into the work environment and get used to my tasks. I was taught a particularly new technique during my placement, and myself, along with other employees received special training from the developers of that technique.

As mentioned before, it is a great work environment, that values great science and places a focus on the people. I would have preferred for my placement year to continued for a lot longer, instead of me having to return to university. I am definitely considering applying for a future position within the organisation.

For sure, we organised student journal clubs and meetings where students would present their work to others, providing the opportunity to present any project-related issues one might have and potentially get good advice. We were also supported by an IP-run organisation that focussed on IPs, organising things such as events outside work and presentation from various speakers at work.

The cost of living was average / high. However, my salary was adjusted twice throughout my placement to keep up with the recommended wages for the London area and surroundings. In terms of socialising, I would say the same, average / high, depending on where you do it, downtown or in London.

I lived in Stevenage, so that should speak for itself. It is not a great city for that sort of thing, although if you are really interested in it there are a couple of places in town. Most people just went to London for nightlife activities, since it is only ~20minutes away.

Our entire department organised a series of volunteering activities where we would all go to a school/deposit and help the people there with their work: painting, cleaning, etc. There were also opportunities to go for Company-presentations in different locations such as school, universities, etc. The opportunities are there, it is just about prioritising what you want to do: project work or things around it.