Intern: Shreya Mukhopadyay
Major: Biochemistry
Company: Genentech
Location of Internship: San Francisco, CA
Internship Title: Protein Chemistry Intern
- Why did you choose the company that you work for?
- Genentech is one of the largest bio-pharmaceutical companies in the US. I like that they had a vast range of research expertise, which is clearly seen if you look up the company website. Additionally, I also personally talked to my current manager much before my internship. He talked about a project that needed the expertise that I have obtained during the time of my PhD. I looked up other departments, followed other people on LinkedIn, and even read some of their research papers. It’s a large company with many intern and departmental collaborations leading to amazing drug discoveries. So, I really followed my dream to work there, networked with people and now I am grateful that I have got an opportunity to work here as an intern.
- What were some of the requirements for your internship?
- This internship is completely research based, so I spend almost all of my working hours in the lab or reading up articles.
- What is your favorite part about your internship experience?
- Learning the application of biochemistry in the field of drug discovery
- What is the most challenging part of your internship? How have you overcome these obstacles?
- I need to commute for around 3 hours in total everyday to get to work and getting back to work. So, commuting that far is really a challenge. Initially I felt really challenged by this long commute mainly because it was physically exhausting and time consuming. Now, I have started using this commute time to study or complete some of my work. Genentech has WiFi in their bus shuttles, so I have started utilizing this time to get some work done.
- How did you find your internship?
- Through your own self-guided research
- Why was it beneficial for you to register your internship for credit through the Internship Program?
- It helped me to keep on self evaluating myself periodically, which kept me on track.
- What advice would you give a student who is in the process of applying to an internship?
- 1) Know about your field of work, understand an area that you want to explore.
- 2) Start looking up companies that work in your field of interest.
- 3) Network with them on LinkedIn, if possible try to meet them for an informational interview, if the company is nearby.
- 4) Request a referral from your contacts before you apply for the position. This will help you stand out from the crowd. If your field is technical like mine, your resume will be read directly by the hiring managers (scientists in my case). It is best to come through a referral, if not, you risk getting unnoticed by HR if you simply upload your resume on the company job portal.
