Pros: good working hours, clean working environment
Cons: poor management, insane work targets, poor database and slow computers, poor organisation/morale/working environment (no windows, stuffy office), poor salary, no room for progression
The good thing about IMS is that it is flexible when it comes to working hours. For example, my manageress would allow me to come in half an hour early and leave half an hour early.
During my tenure, I gained expert knowledge in pharmaceutical patent law. A typical day would involve analysing patent families for marketed drugs that were listed in a
– more... prioritisation Excel file. This took up 90% of the days activities. The remainder would involve updating your own specific weekly processes. This bought some variety into the job albeit short-lived.
The management I have to say was biased towards some people. It was difficult for most of us. I personally believe it was a clash of personalities and office politics. My manager and I had a few run-ins and I reported her to her manageress on a few occassions for being unprofessional. For me it was a very frustrating place to work since both manageresses did not understand that I was fighting a battle against anxiety.
The medications I was on were making it difficult for me to concentrate and I made them aware of this. For this I was reprimanded and I went into depression and stress. I was able to fight it off but my health suffered and so I just did the best I could. But that was not good enough for them. I filled in gaps where people had left them, putting in extra effort to please my managers.
One of the most frustrating things was the fact that they could not understand why I was producing less work compared to the rest of the team. This came down to complexitiy of patent families and their sheer length, some of which would be hundreds of patents long. Althought I produced very good quality work, they seemed to overlook that and kept scrutinising the work I did on a regular basis, putting me under unnecessary stress. In reality then, I was doing the same amount of work as anyone else in the team, just that on paper it looked less.
My co-workers were a mixed bunch. Some more approachable and friendlier than others.
The hardest part of the job was to maintain the ridiculous targets that the managers set on a weekly basis. I guess noone was happy about this and on top of that, multiple projects were being introduced. This made working life very difficult for us as a team. Just by talking to other colleagues you could tell that the work was taking its toll. – less