Summer placement student

What are you doing during your placement within the pharmaceutical industry?

I am working within the Safety Assessment department which supports the selection of targets and molecules with the lowest probability of toxicity. 

My summer placement enabled me to get hands on experience with many specialist techniques including cell culture, immunohistochemistry, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS).

What does your typical day involve?

I spend the day assisting various members of the Investigational Preclinical Toxicology department with their current studies. 

How long is the placement, and how far into it are you?

I am in the second week of a one month placement.

Why did you decide to take a placement in the pharmaceutical industry?

I was offered the chance to come for an industrial placement during summer 2010 and I worked here for 6 weeks. I enjoyed the experience so much that I applied successfully for summer work 2011, continuing to develop the practical laboratory skills I will need, both at university, and further into my career.

I’ve got a conditional offer for Biomedical Science at Kent University and I knew that having this experience would help me stand out from the crowd when it came to applying. Not only that, but I wanted to know more about the research carried out within large pharmaceutical companies.

What opportunities have you had during the placement to find out about working in the pharmaceutical industry?

Training courses, lecture and group meetings have all given insight to the pharmaceutical industry. The tours that I have had around other areas of the company including a Global Manufacturing site and animal units have all been really impressive. I have also had opportunities to see equipment not used in schools but on the curriculum such as NMR, EM and PCR.

What qualifications and other experience of working in science do you have?

I have completed my Maths, Chemistry and Biology A-levels and am waiting for the results to come through. I will have 10 weeks industry work experience and I have applied to do Biomedical Science at the University of Kent.

Do you think it will be easier to find a job with an industrial placement on your CV?

I think it will be a contributing factor to getting a job, because not many students get the opportunity of working in a professional laboratory environment.

What do you think you will do when you complete your degree?

I think it is early days yet, but I want to get my degree in Biomedical Science and then maybe onto further study with the definite aim of going into the pharmaceutical industry.

Has the placement influenced your thoughts on your future career?

Having a placement in industry has confirmed my thoughts that I will be suited to laboratory work and research. Having done placements both within the NHS and a pharmaceutical company has helped make my mind up that the pharmaceutical industry is more for me.