Scientist Review

Overall my placement at GSK was thoroughly enjoyable. Time spent in the lab was a great learning experience, and many skills were developed throughout the year which left me feeling accomplished and a more well rounded person. Many fully subsidised staff events and lunches meant I always had things to look forward to, and further boosted my moral.

I did feel valued by my work colleagues, with my data presented at team meetings and poster events. Commentary and questions about my data from full time members of staff showed that my work was not overlooked for being a placement student and improved my confidence. Regular work socials and lunches made me feel included and part of a team, which improved the working environment a lot.

Overall I was given support and guidance by my supervisor, particularly at the start of placement. However at times towards the end of placement, I felt somewhat left to my own devices when troubleshooting experimental problems. Although not a major problem, I feel like some work could have been accomplished quicker had I had more assistance in optimising various assays.

Throughout the start and middle of placement, there was a good balance of work, and time for the work to be done. Allowing me to comfortably pick up new techniques without too much time pressure or stress. Towards the end of placement the work load did increase due to report deadlines and assays which needed to be done, however this was to be expected and came with no surprise.

During the initial months of placement I was supervised according to GSK policy, however once comfortable in the lab, I found myself in full control of my assays and office work. This made me feel very independent and gave me a feeling of accomplishment and reward when assays gave me a positive result.

The skills I have developed during my time here at GSK are invaluable to my future career as a scientist and any other roles. I have developed not only hard practical laboratory skills, but many soft skills such as presentation and public speaking, along with organisational skills and time management. I believe that these skills will help enormously when returning to university for my final year, and I feel very motivated to return to studies and progress further to PhD level.

The general atmosphere in the office was friendly and lively. Multiple office spaces and desk areas were available in a 'hot desking' system, whereby no-one had allocated desks. I found this to be a great system which allowed the office environment to be changed whenever I desired. This kept me motivated and prevented feelings of repetition from developing.

On GSK's side of the placement it was very well structured and set up, with each student allocated a supervisor, who was responsible for personal training and development. Other staff members were also responsible for organising department based events and activities, as well as co-ordinating induction of students to the GSK. On the most part, the other company involved with my placement; SRG, where good. However, the work holiday system put in place by them was particularly poorly designed. Most, if not all of my fellow placement students found this to be the case, and expressed there frustrations to various colleagues, however nothing was done to rectify the problem. Although only minor, this was an inconvenience

I found an overwhelming amount of investing in myself and other placement students occurred, in both time and money. This led me to believe that GSK truly value their placement students and are committed to attracting them back for a future career with them. No expense was spared when it came to equipment and usage of said equipment, and given how valued your work was as a placement student, almost anything you asked for was granted.

I would love to get a job with GSK given what I have experience in my time here. The friendly atmosphere and feeling of value and contribution to a bigger picture is very rewarding. I will be continuing my studies further in the hope of improving my CV and experience to a level high enough to get a job with them in the future.

the social scene was good amongst part of the placement students, however a number of students did distance themselves from social interaction. I was part of a group of 7 placement students, and we all got along very well and regularly went for food and drinks outside of work hours.

The cost of living was expensive, with roughly half of my wage going on rent and bill payments, this left me with not a huge amount of funds available for going out. Socialising in Stevenage was okay. There was a few restaurants and bars on the main highstreet, however the 'new' town was somewhat run down. London was very accessible and myself and my friends tended to go there mostly.

The nightlife in Stevenage itself wasn't the best, however it was fit for purpose. Bar and restaurants were within walking distance from my flat, and London was only a 20 minute train journey away, so myself and my friends tended make the most of that. Although this was expensive so couldn't be done too regularly.

Many opportunities arose throughout the year, with sports clubs and a gym available on site. A group called IP unite regularly put on events for placement students, including a summer boat party on the Thames, along with a winter ball in London, both of which were enjoyable and received a good turnout from most of the students.