Software Engineer Review

As a student on a computer science course I was exposed to a lot of technologies some new and some I was familiar with. The placement allowed me to develop greatly in both areas and gain a further understanding of what is taught at university and allow me to implement them. Socially it has also been a great experience and I am now more capable doing things I would be otherwise unsure about.

When a problem arose I was never looked down upon just because I was a placement student. My views were taken into consideration and on a large part also used by the company. I felt like i belonged at the company I was an integral part of it.

If i wanted support it was always there for me. I tend to want learn things on my own but sometimes this can not always be the case especially with deadlines and my manager was always there to help me out and guide me in the right direction. Any situations I felt uncomfortable in I could speak to my manager or anyone else.

I had a multiple of projects to work on throughout the year, each one teaching me something new. When a project had finished there was always an opportunity to take on another project soon. There were times when I would not have much to do in a few days as I was waiting for another project. This is where it up to the individual to take it upon themselves to try and look for some work, there is always an opportunity at GSK to be involved with work whether it be in your department or using your expertise in another department. I manged to do this by implementing new technologies and implementing and designing new websites for other departments.

I was given more responsibility then I expected. I took this as a positive as I felt that it was due to my manager trusting me and knowing I was capable of coping with what came my way. It gave me confidence in my own ability which in turn showed within the work in my projects.

There is no doubt what I have learnt in this year will stay with me throughout my life. At university you can study all the theory you like but until you use it in a practical way you will never fully understand it. GSK allowed me to touch upon everything I had learnt at university and much more and apply it to real life situations. I developed software with a multitude of programming languages allowing me to develop on my programming techniques even further than i had imaged I could go within a year. I was given the opportunity to go on a few courses which further helped enhance my abilities for my role and what I wish to do in the future.

The office was never dull but nor was it a loud atmosphere. It was a place where working was ideal for optimum progress within work. Giving a healthy balance of working and social aspects of intercating with colleagues.

It was done very well with a lot of opportunities given to placement students throughout the year. The way the company has run the scheme is second to none and they really look out for the placement students and se how they are progressing.

They invested quite a lot. I was given the opprtunities to go on training courses not only for my development in my role but for the future aswell. When I had an idea about implementing a new technology into the company this was also invested as they bought the equipment and tested it around the different sites including the USA.

For me personally as a software engineer there is not a lot of chance of me returning to the same role. It is a unique role with only handful of people within the team. There is no graduate scheme for it. However there are other graduate schemes which students can still apply for and for the majority this is what they would like to do.

I have got on well with the placement students within GSK and can not imagine the year without them and the support I have received.

Very cheap, and there was a fair amount to do in the area too.

I did not stay much at night in the area I worked as I travelled from a far off location. The nights did stay were good.

There were a lot of opportunities but due to my living arrangements I could not take full advantage of this aspect of working at the company.