Thermo Fisher Scientific

Metrology Co-op

July - December 2021 • Lexington, MA

What I liked

I loved the people that I worked with and the overall workplace environment and culture, and I really enjoyed what I worked on. There was a great variety of instruments and systems I got to calibrate and use.

What I wish was different

Wish I was just a freshman so I could drop out of college and start working there full-time like we all want me to!

Advice

Just be a good listener and don't be afraid to ask any questions!

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Process Improvement Intern

June - August 2021 • Carlsbad, CA

What I liked

A lot of learning opportunities.

What I wish was different

It was remote, but a hybrid experience might have been better.

Advice

Learn as much as you can and ask questions!

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Intern Scientist, Manufacturing Sciences

June - August 2023 • Grand Island, NY

What I liked

I enjoyed the company culture and environment at Thermo Fisher. The team I worked with were all very helpful with answering questions and showing me how to do certain tasks. The Grand Island location of Thermo Fisher manufactures cell culture media, and my role was working in the feasibility department handling custom inquiries from different customers. During the internship I helped evaluate certain steps in the approval process to determine if requests were feasible. Each project was unique so I liked that I was constantly learning and that I could choose which projects I worked on.

What I wish was different

The department I worked in didn't have any interns before me, so there was not much help in terms of onboarding assistance and becoming proficiently quickly in working on projects independently. Although I enjoyed the flexibility the role provided, I wish there would have been a more structured outline to follow. Additionally, the majority of my responsibilities required access to a number of different applications, which had to be approved by IT. This took a while and made it difficult for me to provide contributions other than shadowing team members until I gained access, so I wish the onboarding process was more efficient.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share about this experience is to ask questions. In this intern position you learn from experience, so the more projects you do, the more you learn. All of the scientists I worked with are more than happy to answer questions, and in addition to helping me learn more, asking questions usually saved me a lot of time on projects. Also, there are so many networking opportunities within Thermo Fisher Scientific that reaching out to people is a great way to expand your network and possible future opportunities.

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Intern II - Tech Services

August 2022 • Cincinnati, OH

What I liked

This was my first time in a manufacturing environment, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed my first term at ThermoFisher in Cincinnati. It was really interesting to learn and see all the different processes that go into making pharmaceuticals, and I thought the fast-paced environment was exciting. I felt like I was given a lot of responsibility, which was stressful at times, but also really rewarding once my projects progressed and my work was truly able to help my team. I was able to choose most of what I worked on too. All employees were also really friendly and happy to answer all my questions or point me in the right direction. update 8/4/23: During my second term, I was in Operations Quality, which is a role that focuses on optimizing processes from both the quality and operational standpoint. The role allowed me to spend a lot of time on the floor, where I enjoyed talking to operators and learning more about their experiences at the company. I liked working with them to revise current procedures to better align with their physical processes and prevent them from making mistakes or forgetting certain steps during equipment cleaning and assembly processes. For example, I worked closely with operators to revise the batch production record instructions of one of the site's highest volume products.

What I wish was different

From a personal standpoint, I wish I had been able to work consecutive terms! I was in the Tech Services group, which does batch scale up/scale down, process transfers, and manufacturing process changes. Since it was my first term at the site, I had a really large learning curve, so it was hard for me to get the hang of things until my term was nearly halfway over. I really enjoyed being on the Tech Services team overall, but I found there was quite a bit of boring, grunt work associated with the job, like data collection and data reviews. Another thing I didn’t like was helping with final reports for projects. These were difficult to feel engaged in, as you had to struggle to catch up on all the background information/objectives, and I didn’t really feel like I had much ownership. As for the company itself, I felt like every department had an employee shortage. I would have appreciated if the company were more patient-oriented, rather than business-motivated too, but the culture was still good overall. update 8-4-23: I wish I had been able to develop my technical skills/process engineering knowledge more, but the role was more suited for developing leadership and interpersonal skills. I really wish the company/site culture were better. Communication between operators and managers was very poor, and production seemed to take precedence over employee well-being and product quality. I wish I had a longer term and been able to start some kind of project/initiative to address some of the shortcomings I identified.

Advice

If you definitely plan to do multiple rotations at this company, I suggest you do your first term somewhere closer to manufacturing, such as in the Validation or possibly even manufacturing Quality Assurance. You won’t necessarily get to work closely with specific products like you do in Tech Services, but you will get more “floor time” and it will be easier to learn about all the different equipment and standard procedures at the site. Second, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and request to work (or not work) on specific projects, your co-op term can truly be whatever you make of it. Third, if you are interested in learning more about a department or specific role, prioritize meeting with relevant employees or asking if you can shadow them. I waited a bit too long, and then got too busy near the end of my term to learn as much about the company as much as I would have liked. update 8-4-23: After doing a second term, I would recommend any student try to complete atleast 2 terms with the same company. I did not have as much of a learning curve, which allowed me to start focusing on my actual projects sooner, and it allowed me to see the company from a different perspective. With that being said, still be prepared to hit the ground running, 3-4 months goes by really fast. Finally, as said before, your experience is what you make of it, take time to network with as many people as possible and communicate your interest(s) in getting involved in other areas/projects than what you are assigned.

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