Oncology Scientific Apprentice Review
at AstraZeneca
Degree Apprenticeship
Pharmaceutical
Cambridge
Review Submitted: January 2025
Overall Rating
3.8 /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!
3.5/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
3.2/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
Role is within Translational Medicine (involvement in both pre-clinical research and research in clinical trials). Lab is a histopathology lab (analysing patient specimens by Immunohistochemistry - IHC) which looks at biomarkers pre- and on-treatment to determine the impacts of the drug treatment and the resulting images analysed digitally.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
Overall I enjoy the program as I learnt a lot of new skills alongside lots of talented people, where I feel that my work is contributing positively to the world. However balancing company and university requirements can be challenging sometimes.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
Learnt lots of new laboratory techniques: Sectioning of FFPE-tissue (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded), Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Haematoxylin + Eosin (H&E) staining, digital scanning to generate whole-slide images (WSIs) and AI-guided image analysis. Corporate and communication skills (presentation skills, Microsoft office applications etc.)
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The AstraZeneca component has minimal structure as apprentice's day-to-day roles are all completely different and so there is a lot of flexibility afforded to accommodate to personal situations and company objectives etc. with the main goal of learning the techniques and biology required to work well in the relevant team. The university component is moderately well organised with a defined set of modules and assignments to work through via distance learning
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I receive lots of support from my employer (supervisors and line management) in both work-based support (personal development, 1:1 meetings and feedback etc.) and consideration for university workload (time to prioritise during busier times)
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
2/5
Training provider offers occasional support. Uni lecturers are supportive and helpful when reached out to but as uni modules are almost exclusively online (only 2 weeks of the 5-year course are face-to-face), support feels quite distanced.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
3/5
As the qualification progresses, the relevance to the pharmaceutical industry is increasing. I initially found the modules to be quite unrelated but they are increasingly workplace-orientated and flexible enough to accommodate workplace experiences (currently in year 4 out of 5)
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
Within the workplace are employee resource groups (ERG) to accommodate for early career individuals offering both professional development opportunities as well as social and learning events as well as many informal "hobby-based" groups (running/football etc.)
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Very good place to work with a friendly environment, established apprenticeship scheme, lots of support and good employee benefits.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca?
Be prepared to be busy - completing studies alongside work requires time-management and prioritisation skills, however this does unlock the ability to both earn an income (and gain relevant work experience) whilst completing a university degree. With regards to applications, learn about the company's values and think of time/examples when you have shown these in your life and experience.
