#GradStories, Edel Linehan, Shift Improvement Engineer, MSD

What are your main tasks in a typical week?

MSD is an API manufacturing site. we have two sites that manufacture pharmaceutical ingredients. I work across those two sites supporting that manufacture.

What skills do you need to be successful in your role?

Interpersonal skills are very important, technical skills which I would have gained in my graduate programme are really help full as well as a good sense of how to manoeuvre through the site.

What do you love about your job?

MSD gave me a good idea of what the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland is like. The rotations gave me a good range of experience across the sites in a short amount of time.

How did you get into your job?

I studied processing and chemical engineering in UCC, MSD advertised to us and I applied from there. I started out in IPT API which is the integrated product team where I was supporting operations but it's product specific. You support a certain product to allow operations to do their job effectively.

What skill should first year students develop?

When we're recruiting we're looking for someone we can see working with, that's easy to get on with and communicate with. Someone that can take feedback and run with it.

A big part of it is being open and outgoing and honest and always striving to improve.