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Zenzirouj posted:Oh yeah, so that CDC cryo lab I temped for ended up hiring me full-time. Basically all I do now is shuffle frozen vials of pee/blood/mucous/a horrible amalgation of the three from one box to another, scanning them and sometimes relabeling them. Will I be able to get away with calling this lab work? And would this kind of thing be called quality control? If you are doing it under the auspices of some system like ISO or cGMP I'll bet you could call it quality control...
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Mar 16, 2012 15:54
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Solkanar512 posted:If you are doing it under the auspices of some system like ISO or cGMP I'll bet you could call it quality control... Ahahahah no no, we have a database that is completely customized from the ground up. Because otherwise we might get a skill that would be useful in another job. But I'm hoping there's some term that I can use to describe what I do here without actually describing what I do here and sounding like a slightly literate monkey. For reference, my title is Biological Lab Tech.
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Mar 16, 2012 23:57
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Zenzirouj posted:Ahahahah no no, we have a database that is completely customized from the ground up. Because otherwise we might get a skill that would be useful in another job. But I'm hoping there's some term that I can use to describe what I do here without actually describing what I do here and sounding like a slightly literate monkey. For reference, my title is Biological Lab Tech. Not quite. See, Quality Management Systems like ISO 9001/17025 or the one I currently work with, AS 91000, are all very short documents. They basically say, "you need to have policies, procedures and people in place to perform your work according to the standards expected by this accreditation". So if the database you're working with, or the department you're working for has such an accreditation, then you can truthfully say, "Yes, I've worked under and am familiar with XXX standards". Is your department audited on a regular basis by clients, third parties or the government? Are there special rules regarding access to documentation - do you see the phrase "For Reference Only" on printed copies for instance? Do others sign off on work done? Does your company website advertise with little badges containing odd collections of acronyms and numbers? If so, you could totally talk up this experience. If not, then what the hell kind of lab do you work for that they can't/won't/don't have some sort of third party accreditation? You can practically buy them from the accreditation agencies.
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Mar 17, 2012 00:34
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I think the takeaway lesson here is "stay the gently caress away from big pharma if you want any semblance of job security".
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Mar 17, 2012 06:46
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Zenzirouj posted:Oh yeah, so that CDC cryo lab I temped for ended up hiring me full-time. Basically all I do now is shuffle frozen vials of pee/blood/mucous/a horrible amalgation of the three from one box to another, scanning them and sometimes relabeling them. Will I be able to get away with calling this lab work? And would this kind of thing be called quality control? That is called "compound management"
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Mar 17, 2012 07:50
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Bastard Tetris posted:I think the takeaway lesson here is "stay the gently caress away from big pharma if you want any semblance of job security". It is not like smaller pharma are that much safer. I have been somewhat unlucky in that I am moving on to my 5th company in 6 years (though I left two of them after 4-5 months because they sucked), from anything between a 10 person company and a 100,000 person company. While big pharma can have the constant spectre of layoffs (especially when they buy another 60,000 person company with almost complete overlap in programs), at least it is somewhat consistant (and my experience from being at a large pharma for 4 years feels completely different than some of the stories you guys tell here) With startups it could be the coolest job with tons of perks and freedom to try new things, or it could be completely miserable and they try and pinch ever penny and have everyone perpetually overworked with half as many holidays and 70% pay compared to similar sized companies, with very little inbetween. Even though there is no job security, it seems pretty easy to find another job once you get some experience, and it is not like there is anything else I could do 
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Mar 17, 2012 09:20
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You are receiving this broadcast as a dream...We are transmitting from the year one nine... nine nine ...You are receiving this broadcast in order t
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I am finishing my first year as a lab tech at a synthetic biology start up and wanting to go to grad school. I got a ton of experience this year since the company is small and you get to help out everywhere (dna isolation, sequencing, vector construction, troubleshooting, cell culture). The only problem is the company is going through some rough funding times and we did not get bonuses this year and many benefits are being cut for the foreseeable future. My question is, with my experience and education (BS Biology, non stellar GPA 3.2) should I apply for grad school and continue to work at the company for more recommendations or look for employment elsewhere in the meantime? Could I make more than I currently am (~30k) with my experience? If so, what companies/where should I look? How much does work experience/recommendations play into grad school acceptance? ass tude fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Mar 21, 2012 |
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Mar 21, 2012 16:45
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rear end tude posted:I am finishing my first year as a lab tech at a synthetic biology start up and wanting to go to grad school. I got a ton of experience this year since the company is small and you get to help out everywhere (dna isolation, sequencing, vector construction, troubleshooting, cell culture).
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Mar 21, 2012 22:44
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Different opinion here: Grad school admission is tough right now. Since the job economy is pretty poor right now, those who are unemployed are going back to school. My wife is in a better position than you (same GPA but 4-5 years experience, really really great references) and applied to 8 schools and got rejected at all of them. The reason was the same: her GPA was too low. Every single school just trashed her application as soon as they saw 3.2 simply because they didn't have the time to carefully look at every individual. One example; one of UW's programs had 40 spots open this year and they typically get 100 applicants. She was told 600 applied this year. Normally, I'd say experience and recommendations go a long way but it seems that the sheer volume of applicants is changing that. As far as your pay is concerned, it really depends on your location.
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Mar 21, 2012 22:53
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iloverice posted:Different opinion here: Grad school admission is tough right now. Since the job economy is pretty poor right now, those who are unemployed are going back to school. My wife is in a better position than you (same GPA but 4-5 years experience, really really great references) and applied to 8 schools and got rejected at all of them. The reason was the same: her GPA was too low. Every single school just trashed her application as soon as they saw 3.2 simply because they didn't have the time to carefully look at every individual. One example; one of UW's programs had 40 spots open this year and they typically get 100 applicants. She was told 600 applied this year.
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Mar 21, 2012 23:19
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Dik Hz posted:What field? Molecular cell biology and systems biology.
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Mar 21, 2012 23:29
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iloverice posted:Molecular cell biology and systems biology.
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Mar 22, 2012 01:01
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Dik Hz posted:Wow, that's the complete opposite of my experience in Molecular Biology. We had some students with GPAs in the 2.6 range with industry experience in a very highly ranked program. Were these top 20 programs? I'm looking towards going into a Molecular Biology program. My company did offer compensation for graduate classes, of which I used for two semesters and did well in each class. Would this factor into the equation? Since you seem to have knowledge on the topic, is it easier to find employment post Post-Doc and PhD with a Molecular Biology degree or Microbio?
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Mar 22, 2012 01:13
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Dik Hz posted:Wow, that's the complete opposite of my experience in Molecular Biology. We had some students with GPAs in the 2.6 range with industry experience in a very highly ranked program. Man, I wish I could have told my wife to apply there.  She was heartbroken to get rejection letter after rejection letter. It was really rough for her when she asked each place why they made their decision and they all came back with her GPA. She spent forever on a well written application and had alumni references and none of it was even read by the schools (good schools like UW, UC Berkley, MIT, etc).
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Mar 22, 2012 02:33
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iloverice posted:Man, I wish I could have told my wife to apply there. The trick is to apply to small departments at big schools. Especially if there's overlap. All the schools you mentioned have at least 5 departments and at least 3 training programs with labs that do molecular biology. Apply to every single one individually if you can. Its highly doubtful they share applications. Also, apply to schools not in big areas. WUSTL and UNC both have first-rate Molecular Biology programs and better profs (from a student perspective) than UW and UCB. But because they don't have sexy names and big city draw, they aren't as competitive. Nobody in academia would sneer at either of those two schools. Also, if you can swing it, its not a good time right now to be a large soft money institution. Trust me on that one. rear end tude posted:Were these top 20 programs? I'm looking towards going into a Molecular Biology program. My company did offer compensation for graduate classes, of which I used for two semesters and did well in each class. Would this factor into the equation? After your post-doc, nobody is ever going to look at your PhD degree. It could be in underwater backgammon, as long as it lands you the post-doc you want.
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Mar 22, 2012 02:46
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rear end tude posted:Since you seem to have knowledge on the topic, is it easier to find employment post Post-Doc and PhD with a Molecular Biology degree or Microbio? edit: In other news, HR sent out an internal email advertising 2 positions in bacterial fermentation. There are only two shakers. The two RAs in charge of fermentations/expression testing are pretty scared Appachai fucked around with this message at 06:08 on Mar 22, 2012 |
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Mar 22, 2012 04:54
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Are there, perchance, any pharma folks in here who do computational work for screening target compounds? I had a few questions about the techniques being currently used compared with progress in academia. Totally understand concerns about nondisclosure, but some broad strokes info would be useful, trying to get a feel for where some research at my uni fits into the grand scheme of things.
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Mar 23, 2012 18:25
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I'm a big dumb baby who got a Ph.D. but hates being in the lab. What do I do and where are there jobs? I'm looking into medical writing right now. Any other suggestions?
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Mar 27, 2012 06:48
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Shbobdb posted:I'm a big dumb baby who got a Ph.D. but hates being in the lab. What do I do and where are there jobs? I'm looking into medical writing right now. Any other suggestions? Get a postdoc with a non-rear end in a top hat PI. That's what I did. After a few months you get back to liking it.
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Mar 27, 2012 06:54
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Shbobdb posted:I'm a big dumb baby who got a Ph.D. but hates being in the lab. What do I do and where are there jobs? I'm looking into medical writing right now. Any other suggestions? Depends on your field. If you did a lot of data processing you might be able to jump into a career in quantitative analysis. If you spent a lot of time in a lab that focused on applied science you could probably work in tech transfer. If you are like me and have mainly theoretical training with basic science experience that has very little direct application, you can go teach at a 4-year college or something, I guess. Also, a lot of the support offices related to science at universities hire PhD folks so that they can communicate with the scientists if you don't want to be in a lab but feel like staying in an academic environment.
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Mar 27, 2012 16:51
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Hello friends - I am a baby and I need some help in deciding where to take my life, I figured this was a good a place as any to ask. I am currently finishing up my FRESHMAN YEAR in Boston University pursuing a Bachelor's in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I am completely inexperienced in everything. I have no experience with science other than the classes I took in High School and my current classes - An introductory Honors Biology class and an advanced Gen. Chem class. Gen Chem is hard. If I put in a lot of effort and work into it, I can float with an A-. As I let up, I start to sink. The labs for my Biology class are cake, the labs for my Chem class are stressful. I am not sure whether I like them or not. Scientific papers and all of their terminology that we are asked to read make (usually) make sense after the teacher goes through what they are saying, but are otherwise difficult and scary to understand. Basically, I am a scrub. I'm not sure what to expect from the future. If I am having difficulty with freshman level classes, I'm assuming I am going to get demolished as I continue. I don't know what to do. My first instinct was to transfer to the school of management and pursue a degree in business so I can do some...:Business" when I graduate? Accounting? Finance? gently caress if I know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my original intention in studying here was fairly uninformed and amounted to "Wooo, Boston, it's supposed to be a really big Biotech center! Cool, let me go there and research drugs or do stuff like that!" I like Biology, but I don't have any practical experience (Internships/resaearch) or anything. Should I bail? Is there any reason for me NOT to bail? How much harder should I reasonably expect my life to get as I get to Junior/Senior year - will I have time to enjoy life without being sucked into textbooks forever? Do I have any future outside of the unemployment line outside without going to Grad School? Sorry if this is me rambling but I'm just freaking out because registration is coming up soon...and I have to figure out what the gently caress to do. Thanks for any responses.
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Mar 31, 2012 02:06
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killaer posted:Hello friends - I am a baby and I need some help in deciding where to take my life, I figured this was a good a place as any to ask. What you should be doing is seeking out experience in a research setting to decide whether you enjoy benchwork. Ask one of the chemistry advisers on the best way to get undergraduate research experience. Even if you haven't declared a major yet, its never too early. If they have time and space, almost any professor would love to have you in their lab, even if you're not super productive. You can always just cold-call them and ask too. Most would either say yes or tell you who would have space for you. As for grad school, most jobs in chemistry don't require an advanced degree. Focus on making grades and getting practical lab experience. Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 03:45 on Mar 31, 2012 |
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Mar 31, 2012 03:43
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There are a few questions you should think about: Why do you think that you will be good at something you know nothing about? If you switch to a business major is this situation going to be any different? What do you want to do in your life? What kind of job do you want to have when you get out of school? Intro classes were the hardest for me. I feel like freshman chem and bio have to cover so much basic/fairly uninteresting material and they end up being a bit of a drag. That said an A- is nothing to sneeze at. It's time to make some serious real decisions that will seriously impact the rest of your life. It can be scary, but only you know what you really want to do. EDIT: Also talk to your career center about internships.
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Mar 31, 2012 03:50
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Definitely get an internship or job in a lab. Spending several years doing lab work made me realize that science was not the career for me (no matter how much I love science itself), so I got into business (nifty double major) and currently work in finance. Classes get easier. Concepts start to mesh together, and you'll soon be studying the same stuff again, but in greater detail. This will continue, so as long as you remember anything, Biology will just keep going deeper down a lot of the same holes. Chemistry, like was said above, there's way too many different types that are very different for anyone to be good at all of them. Business is definitely easier in school, just due to the smaller amount of information you have to process in your classes. In the real world, it's not really any easier as a job.
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Mar 31, 2012 10:28
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Arcaeris posted:Definitely get an internship or job in a lab. Spending several years doing lab work made me realize that science was not the career for me (no matter how much I love science itself), so I got into business (nifty double major) and currently work in finance. This, but instead of business I did math. I spent a few years in the lab and am now in aerospace. The thing about math is that when you start telling people your skills and you mention math, a whole lot of folks go, "ugh, I hate math so I'm glad you're around".
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Apr 1, 2012 01:00
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Damnit Fisher, stop making me look like a racist for ordering pentaerythritol
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Apr 5, 2012 03:16
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If anyone is interested in seeing an 'industry leading' LIMS demoed I could do that for you fine folks. I am officially a technical trainer now so I'm trying to practice my presentation skills. I am pretty decent at showing the out of the box functionality and have been developing our bio banking module training course so if there are any takers let me know. Edit: Actually on second thought let me double check if this will get me fired or not :P.
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Apr 12, 2012 18:05
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Lyon posted:
A wise decision. 
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Apr 12, 2012 19:59
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So Pfizer's been in the news lately. I'm not sure how their plan of slashing R&D budget by 30% and selling off their profitable divisions so they can buy back stock is going to work out for them. At least when my company did something similar, we didn't touch R&D spend, and used the cash to in-license new compounds or acquire small companies with promising products in development.
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May 3, 2012 12:05
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gninjagnome posted:So Pfizer's been in the news lately. I'm not sure how their plan of slashing R&D budget by 30% and selling off their profitable divisions so they can buy back stock is going to work out for them. At least when my company did something similar, we didn't touch R&D spend, and used the cash to in-license new compounds or acquire small companies with promising products in development. The plan works great, provided you're in upper management. The trick is to use it to bolster your profits while milking the money-train for all it is worth, then bail with hundreds of millions of dollars when it's all over. Feel free to point out the downside, while remembering just how amazingly, awesomely nepotistic, corrupt, sometimes downright evil, and otherwise incompetent PFE's execs actually are. For everyone else, it's working out exactly like it did the last time. Layoffs, inability to get anything done, poor morale, reorganizations preventing productivity, etc. New plan, same as the old plan.
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May 4, 2012 22:10
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john ashpool fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Mar 13, 2016 |
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May 7, 2012 00:29
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john ashpool posted:With the way companies keep cutting discovery, is it safer to hang in process development instead? You might want to consider subsistence farming
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May 7, 2012 00:34
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john ashpool posted:With the way companies keep cutting discovery, is it safer to hang in process development instead? If you want long term stability, most of my co-workers think a few years in process R&D then a transfer into a sourcing group is the way to go. Process R&D can be outsourced, but someone will still have to manage assets being run at vendors, review proposals, coordinate different sites, etc. and having a chemistry background is very useful for that.
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May 7, 2012 23:32
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gninjagnome posted:long term stability I don't understand.
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May 8, 2012 17:10
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Since I'm getting no answers in the CV/resume thread... In a resume, what are the correct "titles" with research done as student (undergrad thesis and MSc projects)? Is something like Research Assistant ok or should it be "Student Researcher" or similar? There was never any contract involved so I have no idea.
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May 8, 2012 17:41
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plasmoduck posted:Since I'm getting no answers in the CV/resume thread... I used "Research Intern" on my resume. Anything that really gets the point across should be fine, I think?
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May 8, 2012 17:47
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plasmoduck posted:Since I'm getting no answers in the CV/resume thread... If you had your own project, make sure to make that your first bullet point. Scratch that. If you sought and received independent funding, stress that in your first bullet point, and lead with it in your cover letter.
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May 8, 2012 23:17
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Dik Hz posted:Research Assistant. I feel so ignorant right now, my experience points only have a single short paragraph summarizing what I did (I listed 5 projects and didn't want the resume to exceed 2 pages). Is there supposed to be more text? By independent funding you mean actual sciencey stuff you have to write grant applications for, right? I did get scholarships for two of my projects but they were ERASMUS and EU-JP cooperations and not tied to research topics at all.
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May 9, 2012 00:14
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plasmoduck posted:I feel so ignorant right now, my experience points only have a single short paragraph summarizing what I did (I listed 5 projects and didn't want the resume to exceed 2 pages). Is there supposed to be more text?
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May 9, 2012 02:49
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Reseach Assistant in an academic lab. Not grad school yet because I cannot make a commitment to stay in one place for several years at the moment.
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May 9, 2012 03:36
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