Medicinal Chemist Review

This was a fantastic placement and has been a better year than I ever expected. I thoroughly enjoyed the year, it has been a pleasure. This placement has taught me so much and made me into a better chemist, the support I have received is exceptional and I would definitely recommend this placement to anyone thinking about it.

My colleagues were very welcoming and provided an amazing and fun work environment. I received praise where deserved and otherwise I always got the support I needed to achieve my goals. There was a lot of team bonding activities such as lunches and plenty of parties at Christmas and for our leaving.

My manager has been amazing this year, he has gone above and beyond to give me the support I need and more. I am very grateful to have been so lucky. I received lots of help and advice regarding my work throughout the year, and feel it's improved my skills in numerous areas.

There was always something to do, new targets to pick up or meetings to attend. My manager made sure I was never short of work to complete. It's easy to keep yourself busy as if you feel a gap in your schedule you have the freedom to pick up new targets.

I was given increasing amounts of responsibility throughout my placement. Once I was proficient in the lab I was allowed to just get on with my targets and only ask for help when necessary. Towards the end I was given more responsibility and generated some more of my own ideas.

I have developed so many new skills in the practical area of chemistry that will definitely assist me in the lab based assessments when I return to university to complete my Masters year. I have also significantly developed my presentation and scientific writing skills, which will come in very useful for my research project.

The general atmosphere was very good, it was a very relaxed atmosphere and made me feel very comfortable when I first started. We would all go for tea break as a whole lab which always had a fun atmosphere. Bake off also occurred every Thursday which also lightened the mood and cheered people up mid-week.

The placement was very well organised, with training provided prior to starting the placement to ensure that everyone was on the same level of skill. The communication was excellent and clear, and once on the placement it was made very easy for me as everyone knew what they were doing and provided excellent training.

There was a lot of personal training and development opportunities, on the first week of placement we went to Bristol university to receive training on general practical skills, health and safety and risk assessments amongst other things. With regards to my personal development I think that my supervisor went above and beyond to ensure that I got as much as possible out of this year. I did presentations to develop my skills in that and also went to different areas of the company to try chemistry techniques that I wasn't as familiar with (such as high-throughput).

Due to the good atmosphere and culture at the company a future there is very appealing to me, although very competitive I'm sure it would be worth it. I really enjoyed my work on a day to day basis and so would be more than happy to return there for long term employment if given the chance.

There was a lot of industrial placement students on the same site and so the social scene was good, there is a company called IP unite which has 2 site ambassadors in Stevenage who organise socials and other fun things to do. With there being so many students in one place it's easy to make friends and be social.

The cost of living wasn't too bad, housing was slightly more expensive than it was when I was at University in Newcastle but not extortionate. Food shops and utilities were no more expensive than I'm used to, and there are plenty of chain restaurants around that are not too expensive.

The nightlife in Stevenage isn't particularly extensive but there are a couple of bars, pubs and a nightclub, however it is only a reasonably cheap 25 minute train to London so there is opportunity to enjoy the night life there as well if you want something a bit more exciting.

There was a number of volunteering opportunities available, such as over the wall and some others. You are able to take an orange day and go and do volunteering of your own choosing as well outside of work. With regards to completely outside of work there are a number of sports clubs nearby that you can join such as tennis and netball. With London being so close there is plenty of opportunities for activities nearby.