Chocolate Scientist IP Student Review

I definately enjoyed this year and am pleased with the experience Mars has given me. They invest a lot in developing you as a person and I feel I have gained a great deal this year.

My team were friendly and approachable. They took an interest in my personal development and were always willing to be on hand if needed.

My team were very supportive as was my manager. Mars is the kind of place you can walk up to anyone and ask them something. Everyone is very approachable and willing to help. There were regular chats with my manager to ensure everyhitng was going well.

I was kept very busy and often needed to work over my usual hours or come in very early and on some weekends. The hours were flexible so I worked for how long I needed to in order to get work done.

I was given a project to manage and was told to do what I thought was best for it. Help was on hand however Mars were willing to let me take the reigns (to an extent).

Mars invests a lot in people and I believe i'm better equipped now for any job I may do in the future. The degree im taking is unrelated to the position I work in at Mars so for this reason my year here probably won't help me with it a great deal.

Relaxed as it's an open plan environment.

There was a 2 week induction programme which was very informative. The rest of the placement was upto me as a project was given to me and I was responsible for organisisng the work that went into it. Towards the end of the year there is an Placement assessment day. The beginning and end of the placement was well organised however the main part was dependant on myself.

Mars are willing to invest a lot in the people working for them. I was allowed to go on training courses ranging from presentation skills to something more scientific. These were paid for by the company and management are flexible in allowing me to go on one.

There is an assessment day at the end of my placement which will decide whether or not I am eligible to go onto the graduate training scheme. There is also

Placment students shared houses so there a lot went out on weekends.

Slough is relatively expensive as it is not a 'studenty' area. If compared to somewhere like Reading or Uxbridge the accomodation was more expensive. However, the fact that we were working full time compensated for this. Accomodatinon is in the range of £400 a month upwards for a room. Going out was not expensive as london was not far away. Windsor is a 6 minute train ride away and is quite expensive but a lovely area.

Nightlife in Slough is not great however London is a half hour train ride away and Uxbridge and Windsor are not far either.

There are lots of sports clubs in Slough and also a lot organised by member of Mars.