What motivated you to pursue a placement year, specifically in your chosen role and in the pharmaceutical industry?
When first deciding to choose a placement year, I was unsure of exactly what career path I wanted to pursue. I found information on the Pharmaceutical Industry and decided to apply for a placement at Bayer. I was interested in not only spending the year learning valuable skills and the workings of the industry, but also to pursue a career that actually helps people through the running of clinical trials to find drugs that can change people's lives.
![[Bayer] Sam Adams_headshot](/images/default-source/calc/archive/student-placements/bayer-sam-adams_headshot.tmb-medium.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=80deacdb_1 "[Bayer] Sam Adams_headshot")
What was your typical day like on placement: what tasks did you perform, who did you work with?
There were various different parts of working as a Statistician at Bayer. For some parts of the role, I was working with the Study Team and other statisticians to produce Statistical Analysis Plans / other documents and work with data. Other times I was able to learn valuable SAS skills and work with the programming team. I also helped with some Integrated Analysis work at Bayer on various apps that focused on process improvement and data visualisation.
How did your placement year contribute to your personal and professional growth (e.g. volunteering activities, industry conferences, training programs, …)?
I gained a vast amount of both personal and professional skills during my time at Bayer. Not only did it help me gain experience with SAS, R and other applications, but it helped my team working, confidence and communication skills too. I had chances to attend regular training programs run within the company, and some external - such as a Survival Analysis training course run by the Royal Statistics Society (RSS).
How has your placement experience shaped your future plans after completing your undergraduate degree?
It has given me a true insight in the industry, and has helped me in deciding what I want to do in the future by giving me hands on experience. From this, I am now considering doing a Masters after my degree finishes, to further extend my study and to help me get the job I want.
Do you have any tips for students thinking of doing a placement year?
Whether you are unsure what career you want to pursue, or you have an exact idea - a placement is definitely a good idea. It gives you valuable skills and experience in a chosen field, which will not only help you make decisions on your future but also will greatly help you get a job in the future.
