Analytical Scientist Review

When asked whether I enjoyed my placement I am often left wondering myself. The place and the people - not really. Living in Macclesfield was very dull in comparison to my University life and I therefore rarely spent the weekend there. I also feel like I was quite unlucky with my team at work. Other teams regularly went out to lunches and had nights out and there was a good atmosphere within the office. My team on the other hand wasn't as sociable.

I do believe I was considered an integral part of the team, from quite early on. I was trusted to carry out very important work which was to go into the New Drug Application for the drug I was working on. Team members were also very willing to help me learn and develop at the company - some more than others.

Again, here I feel like I was quite unlucky. Some of the other students managers and supervisors played an active role in their time at the company, making sure they were getting on ok and were happy doing what they were doing. This was less so for me however. I was quite happy doing my own thing and getting on with it but I perhaps would have liked more support. My supervisor was quite helpful when it came to the end of the year however, helping me with presentations and reports for my University.

It varied. Some days I would be off my feet and barely able to take a lunch break (as expected). Others I would find myself looking for something to do - particularly at the beginning when I hadn't been fully trained. I liked keeping busy and feel that my workload was quite suitable.

I was given a lot of responsibility during my placement, often being trusted to do very important tasks. I valued the responsibility I was given and it helped me to feel like a valued member of the team.

Although I have decided I do not want to continue my career in Science, and although I did not enjoy the placement particularly, I did learn a lot. I learnt what I would like and dislike in a job role and it has guided my decision for a graduate role. I learnt a wealth of applicable skills which I am applying both in the final year of my degree and am using to (hopefully) secure a graduate role.

The general atmosphere varied. The was an organisational rearrangement when I was there which meant there was a period of adjusting. Being in a very busy team, and an open-plan office, it wasn't the most sociable - but there was work to be done after all.

AstraZeneca take on a large number of placement students and the organisation by AstraZeneca could not be faulted. Every student was placed in a team and had sufficient work to carry out. There were opportunities for training and development and lots of talks going on by visitors. The external recruitment company which AstraZeneca used were not too organised however but this feedback was given to the company.

A large amount of time was spent training each of us. Along with permanent employees taking a real interest into your development and understanding, often giving up a lot of their time to help you. I was considered an equal employee during my placement year. Although it is a shame I decided this is not the career I want, AstraZeneca have invested a lot in me which I am very thankful for.

Placement year students were required to apply for the graduate scheme as usual. I believe I would have a foot in the door if I wanted to apply for the graduate scheme.

This depends entirely on the other placement students and the company cannot be faulted here. Unfortunately the social scene amongst other students was not that great, nor was the area.

The cost of living was affordable and pretty standard. I managed to save quite a bit of money during my year and lived very comfortably.

Because of the location the nightlife was not too good at all. There were some good nights out to be had here however.

This depended on the team you were put in. Some teams had lunch out monthly along with social events out in the evening. There were many company-wide events such as the Christmas party and its a knockout. There were also clubs such as football to join, but a lot of this were more based at the other office location.