Bioinformatics Scientist Apprentice Review
at AstraZeneca
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Science
Cambridge
Review Submitted: February 2025
Overall Rating
4.1 /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
4/5
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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
On a normal workday I do some reading before attending our regular morning standup. In this meeting, we assign new tasks if anyone has the time, and give an update on our work, or ask for help. My tasks tend to be data processing (working on the pipeline, a bit routine), software testing, or working on a longer analysis project with a different team. My meetings tend to be about: my team, my department, my Apprenticeship, journal clubs, interesting talks, or help on a project.
On a normal study day doing my assignment for the Masters, I will either work from home or go into the centre of town and work from the library. I will have made lots of notes from the study week, but there are probably some parts of the assignments I will need to research more, or that I am interested in anyway. I make an action plan and log my hours, and at the end of the assignment I produce a ~2000w report on my analysis, and any scripts I made so the teacher can check that they work.
On a normal study day doing my assignment for the Masters, I will either work from home or go into the centre of town and work from the library. I will have made lots of notes from the study week, but there are probably some parts of the assignments I will need to research more, or that I am interested in anyway. I make an action plan and log my hours, and at the end of the assignment I produce a ~2000w report on my analysis, and any scripts I made so the teacher can check that they work.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I travel to Cranfield for one week out of every month to take a module, then I have three weeks in Cambridge where I work my normal job and also complete an assignment for the module. I have found the study course very front-loaded due to the way it needs to align with full-time students, so the balance has been more towards study since I started in September. This created difficulties with managing my priorities and perfectionism - my job encourages more sustainable work, but the university is too full-on.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I had come to the position with analytical experience and some R knowledge, but little other programming skills. Now, I help to manage the CGR genomics pipeline, troubleshoot data issues, and work on many smaller capability build projects, including multiomics and metagenomics work. I’ve also completed a year of my part-time Masters at Cranfield University, studying RNA NGS methods, machine learning, image analysis, and OMICs integration.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
3/5
The part-time course is extremely front-loaded. In my first year, I did not have enough time to get to know my own team at work or work on in-depth projects and get long-term training at work. It was hard to build community until the second half of my first year. There is no reason why the university course cannot be offered fully online to part-timers, as this would allow a better spread through the year.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
My team has been very supportive and my line manager and mentor have themselves encouraged me to meet people from other departments and consider doing a secondment in a different team some time during my contract.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
I have a lot of in-person teaching, and as much support as the full-time students.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
As an Apprentice in my team, I am exposed to a wider range of bioinformatic applications at Cranfield university than I would otherwise learn in my job role. Software may be widely known in the field of plant genetics and not yet applied in human genetics, for example. The variety of academic and corporate communication styles also helps me to bridge communications between different teams in my AZ department, allowing both wetlab scientists and software engineers to collaborate on complex projects. The Apprenticeship encourages me to constantly take on new projects and learn new skills that can shared with my team.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
There is lots of professional networking, employee groups about Pride, Data Science, Apprentices, Early Talent, Outreach
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It is a really good organisation for early in your career, as there is so much opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca?
Throw yourself into the work you enjoy. Be ready and willing to learn.
