"I think the personality types match with me very well. A lot of my previous jobs have involved quality control, particularly of pharmaceutical products or medicines and a real focus of those jobs is to always do the right thing. Whilst I've never actually been a manager, I am very well organised and often get given tasks that involve project management as I'm good at it. I'm usually one of the first to volunteer or speak up when in a group to try and get discussions going. A lot of my roles have involved me working in a team where individual tasks are shared out and done by different people, so that has been where I've practised being an influencer as it's often about encouraging colleagues to keep everyone motivated and working towards a common goal. "

"I work in the Environmental Protection team at AstraZeneca as an Environmental Risk Assessor. I assess the risk our pharmaceutical products might pose if they enter the environment as a result of patient use, manufacturing or improper disposal. There is a very small team of Environmental Risk Assessors at AstraZeneca (I am one of three!) so I feel like I am making a big impact with the work I do. Working in sustainability is very rewarding as a healthy planet is important for human health. The thing I love most about my job is how varied it is and the fact that I'm constantly learning new things. "

"When I was at secondary school, I did a one week work experience programme with GSK. This involved shadowing a scientist, going on manufacturing site tours and getting to do some practical work in the lab. I never liked the idea of sitting at a desk all day so wanted to do something practical, and found science interesting so this work experience got me interested in the pharmaceutical industry. I had also done a week of work experience in a local hospital working on a ward for elderly people, and had really enjoyed talking to the patients so decided a good combination of both would be to be a pharmacist working in a hospital. Unfortunately my final exams before university didn't go to plan, so I lost the place I had been offered to study to be a pharmacist. Instead I chose to study Forensic Science, but what this meant was that I wouldn't have the right qualification to be a pharmacist when I finished my degree, but on the plus side I still had plenty of other options in science!While I was at university, I spent my industrial year working at a small laboratory company testing suspected counterfeit medicines. I absolutely loved it so decided I would try and go back to the job once I completed my degree. As it is quite a specific job, there weren't any vacancies when I finished studying, so I ended up working as a scientist at GSK. I spent 6 years working in the lab after I graduated, doing lots of different types of quality control testing on different types of pharmaceutical products to support research and development, and supply of medicines to patients. For 3 of the years I worked in the lab, I had the extra responsibility of being the Environmental, Health & Safety representative for my department. I found this super interesting as I enjoy investigating when things go wrong and introducing improvements to make the workplace safer. After a while I realised I enjoyed this part of my job more than the lab work so started looking to change my career so I could do it full time. I had never heard of the job I do now before I applied for it, and didn't really know what being an Environmental Risk Assessor actually involved until I had been doing it for a few months! I've been able to transfer all the skills and experience I've built up until now into this role but because the field of science is very new to me I'm learning new things every day which keeps me motivated. "

"I spend a lot of my spare time with my husband, and our dog, Toby, who is a cross between a Labrador and a Springer Spaniel so is full of energy! We often spend our weekends going for walks in the countryside or going to dog training classes. I enjoy spending time with family and friends going out for nice meals, or cooking for them at our home. I also love interior design and like redecorating rooms in our house or upcycling second hand furniture. I have a medical condition called endometriosis, so I chose to work part-time (4 days per week) to keep a good work/life balance. This gives me the spare time in the week to be a volunteer driver for a local charity who help people who are blind or partially-sighted. A lot of the members are elderly and can't drive because of their eyesight, so I give them lift to and from their social club. I really enjoy chatting to them and hearing about all the things they have done in their lifetime. "

"My job is desk based so I spend most of my day on my computer or in meetings. My job is really varied, but every day I start by reading and replying to emails. The main part of my job is to author different types of environmental risk assessment documents for AstraZeneca medicines. This often involves me reading a lot of technical documents like laboratory reports so I can come to a conclusion on the environmental risks. I also write procedure documents to help define ways of working for those in my team. I also spend a bit of time communicating with external laboratories who conduct testing for us, to make sure everything is going smoothly. I also get involved in communications activities, like updating material on the company website which members of the public can view to learn about what we do. "

"After doing GCSEs, I went to 6th form college and took 3 A-Levels. I achieved a B in Chemistry & Physics and a C in Mathematics. This was lower than I had been predicted to get, so the provisional offers I had to study Pharmacy at university were withdrawn. I ended up going through the clearing system, and studied Forensic Science with a Year in Industry at the University of Kent, and got a 1st class honours degree - so it all worked out in the end!When I was the department Environment, Health & Safety representative at GSK, the company paid for my NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, which was a self-study qualification I could do from home during COVID. Studying doesn't have to stop when you leave school or university - it is quite common for a company to pay for you to do some extra qualifications that help your job role when you are working. "