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Industrial Placements - A Student's View

This is a personal account from a student who took a years industrial placement in 2002 as part of the MChem with Industrial Experience course. The company he worked for was Glaxo Smithkline, a leading research-based pharmaceutical company and was employed as an analytical chemist, working mainly with HPLC etc.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages he gave for taking a year in industry:

Advantages

• It can be an enjoyable experience which gives you an insight into the chemical industry.
• It looks good on your CV for prospective employers - you have experience.
• It makes you more focused with your work and more mature.
• It gives excellent experience in interviews and techniques.
• It gives you contacts with the company and the possibility of further employment when your degree is completed.
• YOU GET PAID!

Disadvantages

• If you work in a certain area all year you may be labelled as that type of chemist.
• It may be hard to reintegrate yourself back into university life - you can forget a lot of theory, find it hard to get back into the way of learning.

These are just the opinions of one student based on his experience, many others find things a lot different. This information is meant purely as an alternative to the standard answers to your questions you may be given by staff members, documentation etc.