LIST OF PLACES THAT OFFER SCIENCE INTERNSHIPS /Year in Industry
In my search for internships I found it very hard to find places that offered a cohesive list of summer internships for biology students. The list below has grown since the original 2018 post and now includes tips on how to make the most of your internship/ year in industry and even graduate schemes and how and when to plan them.
As a science graduate, getting experience enhances your knowledge of a field or allows you to do something new and sometimes identify what you don’t like. The great thing about internships is they do not always have to be directly related to your field of study. You can tailor the experiences you choose to the career journey you envision.
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Types of opportunities available
Internships | These usually last as short as a month and can extend to a maximum of 3months. They are designed to give an insight into a field( usually paid) and accept people with a genuine interest and little experience in the field being offered. |
Work Experience / Shadowing | These are usually as short as a Day or can be as long as a week. These are usually gotten by cold emailing places you are interested in just to have a small insight into what working in that role is like. |
Paid Work | This is anything that can show you are capable of being responsible and does not have to be directly related to your field of interest. Finding work alongside studies can give insight into a future career path or teach you subtle tools of handling the workplace post graduation. Volunteering/ Unpaid Work Volunteering can be done for a range of charities or small organisations to gain experience in a new field. You will often meet people of different backgrounds and career levels . You often learn a lot and are still trained at the level of a full-time employee and usually get the benefits of industry insight and knowledge. |
Virtual Experiences | This can be through courses that allow you to upskill as an addition to the work done at university. They can also be virtual insight days which a lot of big companies have liked since the pandemic. This can be in the form of webinars, multi-day sessions where you gain insight into an industry and will help you stand out in interviews in the future. |
Year In Industry | As it says, an interruption of your study at university to understand what the benefits of industry are and how to apply your degree. This can be the perfect stepping stone into getting a job post university. |
Graduate Schemes / Placements | These are open to recent graduates, usually a maximum of two years post undergraduate or postgraduate degree. They offer a unique insight into many industries and usually allow successful applicants to rotate around different departments before finally settling on the one they are most interested in. |
TCIM RESOURCES: The posts will give you an insight into the careers of different people and the lessons learnt from each opportunity.
Blog posts: The office vs The Lab Lab life : Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Blog post: My Code for Girls Course helped me land my job and masters. Blog post: My experience at GSK Blog post: My Experience as a graduate research associate
LAB EXPERIENCE
Getting lab experience as a science student is essential. The type of work you do does not have to be relevant to your degree directly as the lab skills you pick up will be very valuable in your career journey.
Your University Email lecturers asking if they have the availability to host a student over the summer. Do not focus on the paid aspect, some may host you but without funding – Remember this is invaluable experience to carry out real research. Some labs have funding for research students or know how to apply for funding.
Wellcome Trust | |
Wellcome Trust | |
Francis Crick | |
John Ins Centre | |
John Ins Centre | |
ISMB ( Institute of structural and Molecular Biology) | |
Oxford University | |
Amgen Scholars |
Getting funding for lab experience in your university can usually be done through specific societies that work with The royal society of biology. Their page also has very useful links and advice for both summer internships and placement years.
Science communication
Science Communication is a growing field and with that you can make the most of creating your own opportunities and projects. E.g Bench to Bedside by TCIM . Science Communication opportunities can be split into: video content, written content, exhibition curation and much more
Cancer research | |
Wellcome trust - | https://wellcome.ac.uk/jobs/summer-internship-programme |
Sense about science | |
Science Media Centre | |
Science Journal Internships | Search any Major science journal e.g Cell press, Nature etc |
Allegro Write Programme- Yearly( Jan Entry) |
What is it like working in Medical Communications: Watch a Date with cell press here by BWIS Network
Year in industry( Pharmaceuticals/ Research and development)
The Pharma Industry attracts a wide range of science graduates. You can find opportunities that are technical, sales based, operations, marketing and more.
Reckitt Benckiser | |
Mundipharma | |
Lubrizol | |
Pfizer | |
GSK | |
MSD | |
ICON | |
Unilever |
Virtual Experiences and Newsletters
TCIM newsletter : A round up newsletter with examples of careers you can get into as a science graduate with CV and interview tips. | A round up newsletter with examples of careers you can get into as a science graduate with CV and interview tips. https://shoutout.wix.com/so/2fO9TXmB8?languageTag=en#/main |
Black Pharma : Their mission is to ensure that talented black students, graduates and early career professionals have the right opportunities to maximise their potential and make a positive impact. | |
The SciCommer newsletter : A Weekly newsletter with scicomm opportunities ( jobs, webinars and courses) | |
Medcomms : An in depth website on getting into the science writing industry with regular webinars on different aspects of working in medical communications | https://firstmedcommsjob.com/ An example of a webinar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee689_5gzzE |
Thoughtful Content Newsletter: A health comms newsletter for anyone interested in health writing and its applications in the wider world. | |
10000 Black Interns : A collective effort to get Black Students into internships of their choice in collaboration with many leading organisations |
TCIM hosts a range of career content. Don’t just stop here, check out the newsletter, subscribe and explore the rest of the website !