In this guide
Pfizer's Data Scientist Degree Apprentice vacancy is open in Sandwich, Kent. It advertises a £21,200 salary, a 4 January 2027 start and an 11 November 2026 application deadline. The live vacancy, managed by recruitment partner Cogent Skills, describes a BSc (Hons) in Data Science alongside work in Pfizer's Analytical R&D team.
There is one entry rule to read before the salary or the job title: you must have completed the first year of a Data Science degree, a Data Scientist degree apprenticeship, or an equivalent. The vacancy states this as an additional requirement. A school leaver with A-levels alone should not assume they qualify.
Does the Level 4 route replace the first-year rule?
The listing gives two academic routes: its stated A-level grades, or a Level 4 Data Analyst apprenticeship at Distinction. It then says “Plus” before the completed first-year requirement. Read that as a separate condition attached to both routes. If your previous study is unusual, ask Cogent Skills whether it counts as equivalent before starting the form. The advert does not define every acceptable equivalent.
The A-level wording itself deserves a careful check. Cogent lists BBB–BBC, with a B in Maths and in Statistics. It also lists GCSE Maths at grade 5 and English Language at grade 4, or equivalents. If you studied Maths but not A-level Statistics, do not guess that one subject covers both. Get a decision from the recruitment team about your own qualifications.
Our general entry-requirements guide explains why the word “degree” does not set one universal grade bar. This vacancy's own wording is what matters here.
What would you actually do?
The role sits with Analytical Research & Development at Pfizer's Discovery Park site in Sandwich, Kent. The advert describes digitising laboratory workflows, building data pipelines and dashboards, and using tools including Python and SQL to help scientists work with research data. It is data work in a pharmaceutical research setting, not a promise that the apprentice will spend each day designing medicines.
Cogent lists a 42-month programme with block-release study at Nottingham University. That makes the travel question real: the workplace is in Kent and the study provider is in Nottingham. The listing does not specify the length, frequency or travel support for those blocks. Ask before deciding whether the arrangement works from where you live.
The vacancy says candidates need the right to work in the UK before applying because Cogent Skills does not have a sponsorship licence. It does not state that this condition can be resolved after an offer.
Before you submit
- Check whether your completed study meets the first-year condition. Ask Cogent about equivalence if the answer is unclear.
- Check the Maths, Statistics, GCSE and right-to-work wording on the official vacancy.
- Work out your Sandwich commute and ask how Nottingham block release is arranged.
- Leave time for Cogent's email verification after submitting. The employer says the application is submitted only after you verify your email address.
Cogent says successful candidates move to a one-way video interview. If that stage is new to you, the video interview guide gives you a way to practise with your own examples.
The headline sounds like a route into data science from school. The full entry rules point to someone who has already begun relevant higher-level study. Check that first. If this one is not a fit, compare other live degree-apprenticeship listings and verify their requirements on each employer's site.
ApprenticeWizard listed 6,363 active opportunities, including 278 tagged as degree apprenticeships, in its production database on 30 October 2026. These are search counts, not individually verified openings. Start your shortlist here, then confirm each listing with the employer.