Product Development Scientist Review

Meetings, discussions on the progress and goals of various projects, experiments on new formulations of oral healthcare products, development of new methods of disintegration testing of tablets, manufacture of toothpaste batches to be tested (Ph, rheology, stability over time, colour, etc), write up of reports in electronic lab books.

The managers have been exceptionally flexible with how much responsibility they give you. You are able to lead projects and make a real impact on their progress. You can always ask for more responsibility and the manager/other people in your team will be more than happy to help you challenge and stretch yourself. At the same time, they always check in with you to make sure you are comfortable with your workload. The support is amazing and my team are always enthusiastic to help or take over if the workload becomes too much

Experimental design, time management and planning, accountability, MS office, writing of lab reports in a commercial context as opposed to academic, project management, networking

There is plenty of support, more than I could possibly have hoped for before I started the placement. Everything you need to know for the job or about the company gets taught to you during your training, you are encouraged to try everything and ask questions and request help at any point. The people I work with have been nothing but lovely, they check in with you, offer help, always ask you whether you're comfortable, and take immediate action if you ask for anything. If they can't help you, they put you in touch with someone who can.

People are the best part. They're so intelligent, motivated, genuine, kind, caring, and helpful, it's like they're shining from within, as cheesy as that sounds. I was somewhat skeptical about the company values when I read about them on the website (GSK at the time, Haleon now), but after meeting the employees, even just speaking to them in the interviews, I realised they genuinely embody those values. These are transparent, friendly, caring, intelligent people who are passionate about improving lives, and they look for good people like themselves to work with. The company is all about helping people "do more, feel better, live longer", and they really mean it when they say they start with their employees. I was really struggling with my mental health recently and my energy levels were very low. Not only did my team reach out to me to help, they organised an occupational health appointment for me, gave me sick leave, checked in with me regularly to see how I'm doing, told me not to push myself to return to work unless I feel well and ready, to focus on getting better and that health is more important than any work. They asked me for anything at all I might need. Paid sick leave? Done. Staged return to work? Of course. Working from home? Starting later in the day and doing part time? No problem, and no change in salary. Keyboard and mouse to work from home? Sure. Also, there are a lot of social occasions, going out for meals and drinks, team days where you go out and do something fun with your team, company-wide celebrations and events, conferences, presentations, cakes and goodies, charity events, educational/awareness events, clubs like yoga or handicrafts or running or mindfulness, and so much more

100/100, could not have asked for anything better

Yes