Associate Scientist (Placement Student) Review
at AstraZeneca
Placement (10 Months+)
Science
Gothenburg
Review Submitted: July 2023
Overall Rating
3.7 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4/5
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Overview of Role
4.3/5
-
Skills Development
3/5
-
Support and Guidance
3.8/5
-
Company Culture
3.5/5
-
Overall Experience
3/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
I work in research and development. My day-to-day activities involve running regular screening assays and data analysis. I also have done some assay development to improve the sustainability of the regular screening assays. I also attend meetings with my team and any projects that I am involved in. I have also joined an organisation which helps to organise social and educational events for early career professionals.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Initially, I was not given much reponsibility, and had to follow my supervisors around, but about halfway through my placement, I was given much more responsibility. I now run assays by myself and report the data to real projects in AstraZeneca. I attend project meetings and am mostly treated like a permanent employee.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I have learnt to use complex machinery which is not available at university. I have also developed my cell work through cell-based assays and have been involved in mass spectrometry experiments. I have also developed my programming skills through the use of AstraZeneca's online learning platform Degreed.
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?
4/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
4/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
The level of support you get really depends on your supervisor. Luckily one of my supervisors was very supportive and always there to help if I was learning something new or didn't know how to do something. I also received support from people involved in the placement programme that weren't in my team, which was very useful if there was a problem that I couldn't talk to a supervisor about.
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?
2/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
The work-life balance at the office was amazing, I think this is largely due to it being in Sweden. It is easy to work from home if you couldn't make it on-site, and I rarely have to work outside of my regular hours. They encourage you to take coffee breaks and socialise which is really nice.
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
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I had a mixed experience throughout the year but overall it was very positive and I am so glad that I did it. I have met some amazing people and learnt so many soft skills, not just technical skills. Any issue that I did have in the year was taken seriously, and I was treated as any other employee rather than a student which I really appreciated. I would say overall it was an 8.5/10.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
4/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at AstraZeneca
3/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca
It is a very long application process, I would only apply if you are serious about doing it and have the time to put into the application because you can't leave it to the last minute. The assessment centre is not as scary as it seems, and you should just be yourself. A lot of it is just about getting a feel of who you are as a person.
