Placement Student Review

by Roche

Rating

4.1/5
  • Skills
    4.3
  • Responsibilities
    4.0
  • Support & Guidance
    4.5
  • Culture
    3.8
  • Your Impressions
    4.0

    Overview

  • 1. Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
  • I completed a summer placement working at Roche. Here, I have been researching chemicals for drug discovery. This has been very useful for me personally at an academic level but also in terms of my employment prospects. Typically, I would start the day off in the lab to get a few results from previous days or set up new processes. I would then write up my findings. I would spend time discussing with my colleagues these results.


    Skills

  • 2. Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
  • I have learnt a lot of skills which will set me up very well for a career in science and research. I have learnt to interpret the result of experiments in a commercial environment. This specifically means I have learnt to view the results of an experiment from a profit maximising point of view. This is somewhat controversial but it is necessary for pharmaceutical companies to exist. I have learnt how to code as well.


  • How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
  • 4/5

  • How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
  • 4/5

  • Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
  • 4/5

    Responsibilities

  • 3. Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
  • I was given responsibility to conduct experiments, independently write up my findings, and to make judgements based on those findings. These were in the context of working as part of a wider team, but my input was valued and therefore I did have a lot of responsibility. I was trusted to work safely with equipment. I was also given the responsibility to train other placement students in processes that I had become confident in myself.


  • Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
  • 4/5

    Support & Guidance

  • 4. How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
  • A lot.


  • How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
  • 4/5

  • How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
  • 5/5

    Culture

  • 5. What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
  • The atmosphere is great. There are regular socials. There is a mixture of youth and experience among workers at Roche. This makes for a nice atmosphere because it provides a balance. I got the impression that a lot of people at Roche are ambitious but rightly so because it is a competitive company requiring a high barrier to entry. I also found that most people were willing to help me when required, with no qualms.


  • How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
  • 4/5

  • How would you rate the social opportunities?
  • 5/5

  • How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
  • 3/5

  • How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
  • 3/5

    Your Impressions

  • 6. To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
  • I really enjoyed my placement at Roche. It was a chance to put the skills I had learnt throughout the course of my university degree into practice. There was a lot of learning on the job, and this made for a great experience. I got on very well with my colleagues, when necessary because they were always willing to help me. Moreover, I enjoyed the regular social events that the company organised for us interns.


  • Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
  • 4/5

  • Please rate how your experience met your expectations
  • 4/5

  • Please rate the future employment prospects at Roche
  • 4/5

  • 7. Would you recommend Roche to a friend?
  • Yes


  • 8. What advice would you give to others applying to Roche
  • Try and be open to the commercial side of the pharmaceuticals industry. Many people disagree with this but ultimately profit is what keeps these companies in business, and allows the public to benefit from new discoveries. Try and show that you are commercially aware by being aware of concepts such as revenues, costs and profits. These are basic but it is useful to show that you are, as a science student, also aware of business.


    Report this review

Details

Placement (10 Months+)

Pharmaceutical

South East

October 2023


View More Reviews