Regulatory Affairs Review

I have had a really great year working at Janssen (the pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson). My role was working in the regulatory affair department, as part of my role i had exposure to the whole R&D function of the business which was great to being to see what role would suit me best after i graduate. The global nature of this company means there are lots of initiatives you can get involved with as well as your day-to-day role.

My direct team i worked with were fantastic at making me feel like a valued member of the team, i wasn't just the intern, they really valued my perspective and took on board my suggestions about how to improve processes. During my year i have built a great network of colleagues who have each given me advice, helped shape my career path and given me feedback as well as seeking feedback from me about themselves

The support from my line manger was extremely helpful. At the start of the year we discussed my goals and objectives for the year and created a detailed plan about how i could achieve these. We had regular check-in through the year to evaluate the progress of achieving my goals and objectives. If i ever needed extra support or guidance my line manager was always available and more than happy to assist me, i am very greatful.

My workload could vary greatly day to day. For the first six month of my placement year i carried out an individual research project, I was very busy while completing this. During the second six months i took on more product responsibilities and this work could fluctuate depending on what stage of development the product i was working on was in. There were plenty of other activities within the company i could get involved with when i was less busy with my role

For the first six month of my placement year i carried out an individual research project, I had sole responsibility of this project, with support from my line manager when i needed, I was in charge of managing my own time and how to shape the direction of my project. During the second six months i took on more product work, to some extent i had responsibility over this work but due to the highly important nature of this work in term of economic cost i didn't have sole responsibility over this

The skills and knowledge i gained during my placement year will be invaluable to me during my final year at university and once i graduate, in my future career. The main skills i developed that will help me are: time management, prioritization, critical analysis, report writing and networking. The strong focus on development and the training sessions they put on for you that you get with this placement scheme really helps support you to push yourself

The office was a great environment to work in. We operated an open plan hot decking system which really helped networking opportunities as you could be sat chatting to a different person each day. At Johnson & Johnson there is a real culture of friendly people who are invested in supporting the development of others which means you're surrounded by people who are more than happy to talk you about their career and answer any questions you may have

Extremely well, there is a dedicated placement team made up with a representative from: human resources, learning and development and finally the placement lead who is a graduate who themselves has been on the placement scheme. This diverse group of people helps support so many different aspect of the scheme, human resources are there to answer any questions about career paths, learning and development can help plan what skills you want to develop during your year and the placement lead is there to support any other aspects as they can speak from experience

The placement scheme at Johnson and Johnson had a strong focus on development, having a dedicated learning and development representation on the placement team meant there was always someone who was focused on pushing us students and providing great tools and resources to further develop our skills. There were training sessions organised through the year that we were encouraged to attend and regular development checks to see if we were on track to achieve what we wanted from the year

The commercial grad scheme is a great opportunity available to placement students to enter into the company, being such a large company means there are many different roles and it is easy to navigate and find out about each role in detail during your year at the company. There are less job prospect for research and development students but this has been fed back to the placement team and hopefully there will be more in the future.

There is a large cohort of students, this year had 15 students, which means there is a great chance of finding others that you get along with. Also by relocating and living with other placement students is a great way to make friends. High Wycombe, where the main Janssen office is, itself doesn't offer the best social places but there are great transport links to other cities such as Reading and London which has a great variety of places to go

Accommodation was towards the higher end of the spectrum due to the proximity of London but it is still affordable. There are all the typical supermarkets you would find in a town, ranging from both Marks and Spencer to Lidl and Alid. Socializing was mid-range, if you want to travel further for a night out then travel expensive will increase the cost, there are direct trains from High Wycombe to London Marleybone for less than £10 (one-way)

There were lots and lots opportunities to get involved with including: a company football and netball team that were a great opportunity to casually network with other colleagues. There is a free gym on site which employees can access every day of the working week and also they put on a variety of exercise classes in the morning, at lunch time and after work that you could fit into your working day and were very well run