Wellcome Sanger Institute Work-life balance reviews

The area is stunning, especially in the summer. Huge back fields and wetlands to wonder/ jog around and escape the lab for an hour. There's an onsite gym and sports hall and huge canteen that serves international food at "reasonable" prices, (can become quite expensive if you buy food every day at work). Three onsite coffee shops (cheap coffee) and an Amazon Locker onsite. There can be a university campus vibe to the site sometimes, with regular research presentations and a Sanger Day each year where there's lots of activities and many labs stop work. There is world leading tech in most labs, but especially in downstream applications labs such as DNA pipelines, which house row after row of cutting-edge short and long read sequencers. I have worked in two teams during my time here and had radically different experiences in both. My first line manager was a great scientist, but never present, so I felt like there was nobody to guide me in my first team as they were the expert in my field, which was frustrating. When I transferred to downstream applications, my manager is honestly one of the best I have ever experienced in my work career. Very caring, supportive and encouraging and there is a brilliant team dynamic where I am; in no short part because of my line manager. There is an unusually large number of employees here that have been at Sanger for 20+ years, which I have never seen in any other place I've worked. So take from that what you will.The benefits at Sanger are just about as good as they get and with a 15% contribution from sanger to match your pension contribution -

Pros

Great culture, Campus feel, beautiful surroundings, very good benefits/pension, fast progression if you work hard.

Cons

Tedious work at times, especially for RAs and ARAs, Too many mandatory courses/workshops like bias training, Pay could be better

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horario flexible, posibilidad de trabajo remoto

Computer Biologist (Former Employee) - Cambridge, Reino Unido - 7 March 2017

Un lugar excelente para crearse un currículum en el mundo de la Ciencia.

Pros

seguro médico y pensión privados. facilidades para estudiar y promoción, horario flexible, ambiente cordial

Cons

no se encuentra en mi pais

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Insights into Wellcome Sanger Institute

Based on 2 survey responses

What people like

Support from manager
Overall satisfaction
Inclusive work environment

Areas for improvement

Trust in colleagues
Energising work tasks

Interesting work, poor management

Senior Software Developer (Current Employee) - Hinxton, Cambridgeshire - 6 March 2017

While the work that goes on here is interesting (that's why most people are here to start with), the institution is let down by management that takes a very short-term view. There is little in the way of job security, and unless you are an academic researcher, nothing in the way of prospects for advancement.

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Very nice environment

Scientific Facilities Manager (Current Employee) - Hinxton, Cambridgeshire - 16 June 2015

I am part of a small and productive team and we work closely together, bouncing off ideas and solving problems for the scientific teams. Our job is to support the scientists concentrate on their research, by taking everyday problems away from them, giving them advice and putting them in touch with the right people. My remit is varied, which makes my job interesting. I particularly enjoy planning for a big job, such as a relocation or a building project. I have learned a lot about working in a lab, from working in one myself and being involved in lab refurbishments. The Institute has been very good for me and I have been able to progress during my time here. However, I am not enjoying the current rate of growth of the Institute, as I feel I am losing the close relationships I was able to build when there was less people.

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