Process Technologist Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this job from start to end. I had a wide variety of tasks to carry out that changed on a daily basis which was great for keeping me motivated and the job interesting and exciting.

There was a really great working relationship here at the Barnard Castle site for GlaxoSmithKline, even though I was the only student and significantly younger than the rest of the team I continously felt valued and that my opinion was appreciated.

The majority of my support and guidance was very good, however at certain points I felt it was lacking as we only had a one to one on a monthly basis. This could be improved but I felt it was difficult due to the high workload and pressure placed upon my manager.

On a daily basis I would have plenty to do to keep me occupied. I much preferred this as it made the days more enjoyable and left me with a real sense of satisfaction. It also allowed me to develop and improve my skills at prioritising tasks.

I was given a lot more responsibility than I was expecting. I had multiple projects in which I was left to determine timescales, responsibilities and actions. This was great to take on as I thoroughly enojyed the challenging aspect of running a variety of projects.

I felt I developed a lot of good skills during my year at GlaxoSmithKline, many of these will come in very useful for my final year at university. However a lot of my tasks were unrelated to my degree so would be more beneficial in the future when I embark on the career ladder.

There was a great workign relationship within the office, everyone got on well and there was always a bit of office humour flying around. However this never detracted form our ability to get the job done.

The placement was reasonably well organised as I replaced the previous person working in my role, so I took on there responsibilites and tasks. This meant that I had a good handover period and plenty of time to get to grips with what the job entailed.

I felt GlaxoSmithKline invested in me as much as they would a permanent member of staff, I regulalry attended training courses and activities so that I was as qualified as the remainder of the team.

Upon completion of this year in industry, I feel that I am very much better prepared for getting a job in the future. GlaxoSmithKline offer a very interesting and rewarding graduate scheme that provides promising prospects for industrial placement students.

There was only eight of us at the Barnard Castle site, however we all got on very well and regularly had socials and nights out. We completed the three peaks challenge for a local charity and even had a boat party on the river Thames with other IP students across GlaxoSmithKline.

As Barnard Castle is based in the north of England it is much cheaper than the south, which would be a welcome incentive to any future students who are currently based down south. The price of renting a property is considerably also considerably lower as Barnard Castle is a relatively rural area.

The nightlife was enjoyable in Barnard Castle, but this was mainly due to the people that we went out with. A more lively and exciting night out can be found at one of the nearby cities: Newcastle, Durham and Darlington

There are a vast array of opportunites available for students at Barnard Castle, however these may not seem quite as easy to find as they might be in a big city. Activities can range from the gym to salsa dancing classes.