Associate Scientist (Placement Student) Review

I work in research and development. My day-to-day activities involve running regular screening assays and data analysis. I also have done some assay development to improve the sustainability of the regular screening assays. I also attend meetings with my team and any projects that I am involved in. I have also joined an organisation which helps to organise social and educational events for early career professionals.

I have learnt to use complex machinery which is not available at university. I have also developed my cell work through cell-based assays and have been involved in mass spectrometry experiments. I have also developed my programming skills through the use of AstraZeneca's online learning platform Degreed.

Initially, I was not given much reponsibility, and had to follow my supervisors around, but about halfway through my placement, I was given much more responsibility. I now run assays by myself and report the data to real projects in AstraZeneca. I attend project meetings and am mostly treated like a permanent employee.

The level of support you get really depends on your supervisor. Luckily one of my supervisors was very supportive and always there to help if I was learning something new or didn't know how to do something. I also received support from people involved in the placement programme that weren't in my team, which was very useful if there was a problem that I couldn't talk to a supervisor about.

The work-life balance at the office was amazing, I think this is largely due to it being in Sweden. It is easy to work from home if you couldn't make it on-site, and I rarely have to work outside of my regular hours. They encourage you to take coffee breaks and socialise which is really nice.

I had a mixed experience throughout the year but overall it was very positive and I am so glad that I did it. I have met some amazing people and learnt so many soft skills, not just technical skills. Any issue that I did have in the year was taken seriously, and I was treated as any other employee rather than a student which I really appreciated. I would say overall it was an 8.5/10.

Yes

It is a very long application process, I would only apply if you are serious about doing it and have the time to put into the application because you can't leave it to the last minute. The assessment centre is not as scary as it seems, and you should just be yourself. A lot of it is just about getting a feel of who you are as a person.