Summer Internship @ Genentech

Hello past/current/future/potential Tepperonians,

I’ve volunteered to become a Tepper blogger for several reasons a) I love to write about my experiences and opinions. This is evident in my years of Yelp Elite status where I’ve written over 300 reviews on the platform. b) I had a great internship experience and would love to share it with others.

This summer, I am working at Genentech (A Member of Roche Group) as an MBA finance intern. Genentech’s finance organization is divided accordingly to the life cycle of a product. I was fortunate enough to be placed in the Genentech Research & Early Development (gRED) finance group where I work on a molecule in our portfolio, acting as Project Finance Manager (PFM). P.S. there’s a gazillion acronyms to learn here at Genentech! I’m doing valuations to figure out the adjusted NPV (net present value) for the molecule and my calculations and analysis basically provides information on if we should continue advancing a molecule in clinical trial or if there’s other alternative strategy for the molecule such as partnering. I’m not only improving upon my analytical skills with tons of analysis work, but also learning so much about how finance fits into the big picture of the overall strategy of the molecule.

I love the culture at Genentech. It is a very network heavy company and people encourage and expect you schedule coffee chats to meet all your colleagues. I’ve had 20+ coffee chats and the number keeps going up! I’ve had coffee chats with people at different levels ranging from the CFO to current FRDPs (Finance Rotational Development Program). As a flat organization, people don’t really see rank that much and everyone is always open and happy to meet with you! 

Another thing I love about working at Genentech are the benefits and amenities you get!  Starting from transportation to work, Genentech has buses running around the whole Bay Area (it also has its own ferry for those who live in Oakland!). You can literally live anywhere in the Bay Area and get to work without having a car. And the best part is, all these buses and ferries are free for all Genentech employees! So I never spent a dime on transportation to work during the summer. Another thing I need to flex about is the building called “The Hub” located at the center of our campus (and conveniently right next to the building my office is in!) It not only has a two floor gym, two studios with free fitness classes throughout the day, showers and sauna, and also a career lab, gelato bar, bank representatives, and a barber shop. I know right!?

Last but not least, my favorite moment of my summer at Genentech would be the gRED townhall where they invited a patient to speak about their experience and journey. It was definitely very emotional and is a reminder to all employees about why we are doing what we are doing: which is ultimately to help patients around the world.

It probably sounds like Genentech paid me to write this review about them, but I swear, they did not! I genuinely enjoy working here so much that I want to share it with everyone! I am sad to be leaving Genentech soon as my internship is coming to an end, but I can’t wait to share all my experience with my classmates and incoming students once I get back to Pittsburgh!