Scientist Review

Put some reactions on to synthesise some potential hyperdispersant candidates. After synthesis of these candidates carry out some screening tests to check the performance of these candidates. Help with the day to day running of the lab- ordering chemicals, unpacking chemicals, auditing, organising. Time out of the lab is spent doing various activities- making Powerpoints for meetings, watching university lectures, writing my dissertation. Also some time is dedicated to organising volunteering events as I am apart of the volunteering committee.

Learnt presentation skills, many opportunities to present to a group of people for public speaking along with making the actual presentation. Learnt how to operate various pieces of lab equipment to characterise and take measurements of chemical substances. Opportunities to take responsibility for your assigned project and have control over synthesis that you don't get to experience at university. Lots of problem solving, not every synthesis will work/ work perfectly- figure out improvements/ possible solutions. Support available- everyone collaborates and works as a team. The volunteering committee offers opportunities to develop organisational skills.

I felt like I had responsibility. It always felt like what I was doing as part of my project was of relevance to the company rather than them just giving you work to have you do work and keep you busy. I also think that due to the nature of the company, it being chemical based, you have inherent responsibility and trust from the company as there is a potential for danger due to the chemicals you work with.

I had frequent one to one meetings with my assigned supervisor. We would talk about development of skills and what I wanted to achieve out of the placement. They would also check on my well-being, e.g workload, how university was going. Larger meetings were held to give input on projects. Guidance was given in the lab by my supervisor about lab work and safety. Lubrizol also had a lot of resources you could watch/ read for guidance.

It was a welcoming atmosphere. It felt like you knew a majority of the people around you and you could approach people, even people in higher management. Even though people are based on different floors within the building and are within different teams there is a sense of togetherness, there are meetings that everyone attends and other opportunities to collaborate with people from other teams. For example, the volunteering group and the sustainability group have a variety of people from within the company.

I really enjoyed it. For me it cemented that I wanted to work in industry after graduation and it felt like this placement enabled me to do this via the skills I developed and the experiences I had. I think the understanding they had in regard to me working but also having to study for university allowed me to balance everything well and get the most out of both my placement and university without ever feeling overwhelmed

Yes

I'd encourage them to go for it with the caveat that patience may sometimes be required when dealing with HR and the interview process as it's quite lengthy. A CV and a cover letter, followed by an online assessment, potentially a phone screening, and then an in person competency and technical interview are all quite involved.