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packsmack posted:Edit: Thanks for the ACS link, but all that information is behind an ACS member paywall. http://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/careers/salaries/cen-salary-article.pdf
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Nov 6, 2015 12:28
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Ahhh, thank you.
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Nov 6, 2015 14:09
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packsmack posted:Edit: Thanks for the ACS link, but all that information is behind an ACS member paywall. Fun fact. If your internet is slow you can click the calculator link before the log in page pops up and it will launch the calculator.
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Nov 8, 2015 01:59
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On top of this weather royally screwing with my sinuses, I get a call about an external autopsy today at work. I go to my supervisor to ask where to find the protocol. They get uppity and say, "You've done one of these before, you should have this memorized. It's what we pay you for." Yes, I've done literally one type of this case, nine months ago. Sorry I don't have a perfect memory? But then to top it off, my supervisor says, "Oh wait, the <blahblah> study? I don't know that protocol, don't you have it? Oh here it is, but their protocol is wrong... I think? Yeah that gets transferred to pathology. Wait, no, we do it I think. Yes. No wait, we transfer it to Dr. Blahblah. No, no, we DO do it. At least you're getting paid!" ...so I get reprimanded for not remembering a very obscure(our lab has literally done one of these cases, since it's a fee for service) protocol I performed nine months ago, but my supervisor loses their protocol, forgets about the study entirely and gets snarky when questioned about it(this supervisor is who we contact with exactly the question I asked today) and... I'm supposed to respect this person as my lab supervisor? Really?
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Nov 18, 2015 00:27
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Johnny Truant posted:On top of this weather royally screwing with my sinuses, I get a call about an external autopsy today at work. I go to my supervisor to ask where to find the protocol. They get uppity and say, "You've done one of these before, you should have this memorized. It's what we pay you for." Yes, I've done literally one type of this case, nine months ago. Sorry I don't have a perfect memory? I got reprimanded today for taking initiative and making an equipment move happen 3 days ahead of schedule. I'm a senior research engineer. I'm pretty pissed, and during my exit interview I'm going to say I was micromanaged to a lovely degree. I'm a round peg in a square hole company, pray for me goons Bastard Tetris fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Nov 21, 2015 |
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Nov 21, 2015 11:34
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Bastard Tetris posted:I got reprimanded today for taking initiative and making an equipment move happen 3 days ahead of schedule. I'm a senior research engineer. I'm pretty pissed, and during my exit interview I'm going to say I was micromanaged to a lovely degree. That does sound like some bastard like tetris. I hope all goes well for you. I left my job. I got tired of them trying to duct tape the equipment and claiming that it would be fixed soon. The date was repeatedly pushed back for "issues" and even then, the losses for downtime had to have been bad. The day I walked, my knees were killing me from shoveling ground corn from lovely equipment that would plug constantly. If I was still a lab tech, it wouldn't have been my problem. Although, if I was still in the lab it would become my problem because no corn = no sugar to fermentation and bad alcohol production and then lovely water balance issues in the plant. Hopefully I find work soon, but the last week of icy hot on sore knees plus netflix and time with my puppies has been pretty awesome.
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Nov 21, 2015 12:37
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It's burgin' time! 
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Any synthetic polymer chemists around looking for a job? Are you willing to live in the Piedmont Triad of NC?
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Nov 25, 2015 04:28
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Aww poo poo mothafucka Got an offer one level higher than I interviewed for, with a substantial raise, building out a new 14,000 square foot lab with a team of 10. 2016 is gonna be a sweet year.
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Nov 25, 2015 08:16
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Bastard Tetris posted:Aww poo poo mothafucka Grats man! What are you going to be using the lab for? Meanwhile i got turned down for a job that probably was a lower level than I am now. But was at least somewhere other than a loving CRO.
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Nov 25, 2015 18:18
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I just started working at a CRO as a lab tech (ahem, "Assistant Scientist") in the immunochemistry department. After 6 months of job hunting after graduation I'm thankful for anything, but so far it seems like it really suits me (I'm a weirdo who actually likes pipetting all day). Coworkers and management are AWESOME and the work environment is fantastic so I'm hoping I can avoid some of the horror stories here.
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Nov 27, 2015 04:54
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Bastard Tetris posted:Aww poo poo mothafucka
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Nov 27, 2015 14:26
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I got hired as a chemist/lab tech to analyze samples in a QC lab Spent most of this week installing/removing pipe insulation. But compared to the stuff other people have to do, it's not that bad
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Nov 27, 2015 16:13
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DOOP posted:I got hired as a chemist/lab tech to analyze samples in a QC lab 
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Nov 27, 2015 18:58
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My lab doesn't have a HPLC. Or more than one operational balance. 
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Nov 27, 2015 19:06
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Dik Hz posted:I got to help build a lab about that size two years ago. My contribution was the 3000 sq ft analytical lab. If you have any questions, go ahead and shoot. I'm not an expert, but I did learn a lot. My biggest success was putting all the analytical equipment on center aisles on adjustable height tables. I left a 2 foot walkway between the tables so servicing the equipment is really easy. I then dropped utilities on posts from the ceiling to hook them up. Extremely functional. You guys really ought to have a contracted specialist be doing that design work. There are default best practices for this sort of thing.
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Nov 27, 2015 20:31
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I've been impressed with my new job. Got to run samples on their quite new icp-oes (thanks thermo bro) my first day after company-wide new hire training. drat those repeatedly measurements. I came in as a regular ol' shift chemist. Islam is the Lite Rock FM fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Nov 28, 2015 |
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Nov 28, 2015 08:40
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Discendo Vox posted:You guys really ought to have a contracted specialist be doing that design work. There are default best practices for this sort of thing. Yeah, most of the layout is already done, I'm in charge of doing some of the fine detail working with some of their specialists. If you have anyone you'd like to recommend, reply or PM and I can check them out. It's a heavily automated lab working towards a protein therapeutics pipeline for a rather large pharma company. I start in January. Now to have an awkward conversation with my current employer!
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Nov 28, 2015 19:25
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Bastard Tetris posted:If you have anyone you'd like to recommend, reply or PM and I can check them out. Sorry, the people I know best focus on academic medical centers, and are usually brought in at the institutional level. These guys also have a solid reputation. I'm not sure either group does the granular work you're looking at at this point. If you're running a larger scale (capital) lab project, though, ask for Bob Marriott. He developed most current research space planning practices. Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Nov 28, 2015 |
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Nov 28, 2015 19:36
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Discendo Vox posted:Sorry, the people I know best focus on academic medical centers, and are usually brought in at the institutional level. These guys also have a solid reputation. I'm not sure either group does the granular work you're looking at at this point. If you're running a larger scale (capital) lab project, though, ask for Bob Marriott. He developed most current research space planning practices. Still worth checking out, thanks!
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Nov 29, 2015 06:58
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Dik Hz posted:My biggest success was putting all the analytical equipment on center aisles on adjustable height tables. I left a 2 foot walkway between the tables so servicing the equipment is really easy. I then dropped utilities on posts from the ceiling to hook them up. I like you.
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Nov 29, 2015 08:00
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Bastard Tetris posted:Yeah, most of the layout is already done, I'm in charge of doing some of the fine detail working with some of their specialists. If you have anyone you'd like to recommend, reply or PM and I can check them out.
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Nov 29, 2015 14:34
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Discendo Vox posted:You guys really ought to have a contracted specialist be doing that design work. There are default best practices for this sort of thing. What, you mean you can't just use any old commercial space like my last employer? And then max out every circuit? Do you know how much fun it is when the power goes out in only half of you're cubicle?
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Nov 29, 2015 15:36
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^^^^^^  Dik Hz posted:Where are you located? I know a really good lab cabinetry installer. But only works DC through Florida and out to Atlanta. California, ruh roh. They know what they're doing though, we are moving across the street and the current building won a ton of awards for use of space, architecture, lab accessibility, etc.
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Nov 29, 2015 19:12
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Solkanar512 posted:What, you mean you can't just use any old commercial space like my last employer? And then max out every circuit? All I have to say is aseptic drop ceiling.
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Nov 29, 2015 21:49
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Sundae posted:All I have to say is aseptic drop ceiling. We used to lose power every fall and spring due to wind storms, and it was so much fun bringing everything back online. See, when I said "maxed out", what I really meant was "maxed out when everything was already at a proper and stable temperature". So we had to turn everything off physically and then turn them on few at a time. poo poo was really fun in the summer when the A/C would inevitible fail and all the refrigerators would engage in a deathrace to see who could pump the most heat into the lab area.
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Nov 30, 2015 00:56
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I've now been in a biotech For two months after a lifetime in academia. Somehow, I can't get subsets of primary cells to grow out with any semblance of purity and it's driving me insane. I miss my comfortable academic bubble, even if it paid poo poo.
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Dec 1, 2015 17:46
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Almighty QC Gods please make my measurements within tolerance. I do not wish to run it another three times. Amen.
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Dec 2, 2015 00:27
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Robots are loving assholes, never trust them
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Dec 2, 2015 07:24
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Well after working with a CRO doing clinical work as a analyst, I have graduated to the title of "Chemist 1" at a decent sized Pharmaceutical company in the Midwest. I've been here for about 6 months and I can already see that everything I was told during my interview and when I was hired was false in some way. After my initial training, I was told I also had to do a rotating second shift for 2 weeks every quarter. This was to my surprise as I had specifically asked the interviewers if extra work like weekends, on calls, or off shift work was required. In the first month, I was told that everyone was going to be put into a raffle (with each year of exp. gaining you a ticket) because production was going 24/7 and we had to go to a 3 shift system to support them. This of course caused lots of bitching and when it came down to it, after weeks of telling us this was going to happen, they abandon the whole loving thing with zero notice because the lab manager who would have had to go to an off shift threatened to quit. *5 more months of examples of terrible. Its like peeling an onion, each petal more rotten than the last. My most recent lie was being told that our turn over rate was something like 3 people in as many years, while its actually almost 10 people in the last 2 years. In a department that was until recently, only about 15-20 people large. I actually expected it to be high, but for fucks sake, don't lie to me. On the bright side, I do like my job overall. Even if I am doing 2nd shift right god drat now.
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Dec 2, 2015 10:50
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I was wondering if anybody could give me a bit of a reality check and direction for my situation. To sum up some E/N garbage, I had to take a break from my undergraduate chemistry degree for boring reasons. I have just two semesters left and I can't start school again until the fall because of how the classes are offered. Basically, I can't do anything with 95% of a chemistry degree and I've been working dreadful minimum wage poo poo for long enough that I'm ready to finish the degree and find something slightly less menial and somewhat better paying. Reading the thread has shown me that QC is the laboratory gateway for baby chemists. What worries me is that I’ve spent close to three years doing computational chemistry (trying to find transition states using Gaussian) instead of fiddling with the HPLC columns and spectrometers. I’m not sure how to adjust myself for the workforce other than begging the analytical/inorganic professors to let me clean glassware over the summer. I’m pretty naïve about what’s going on with local labs, but I’m guessing they aren’t looking for someone to do quantum calculations on their vanilla extract. Is there a good way for me to leverage the experience I do have, or is it just resume filler at this point? Lastly, does anybody know any places to keep an eye on in mid-Michigan or whether it's just dead here? I haven't seen many QC job postings, but I know a lot of companies hold off on public postings unless they're desperate.
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Dec 2, 2015 21:18
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Pete Zah posted:What worries me is that I’ve spent close to three years doing computational chemistry (trying to find transition states using Gaussian) instead of fiddling with the HPLC columns and spectrometers. I had a chem BS and some undergrad research on an organic synthetic method study coming out of college. I told the interviewers that I had no HPLC experience whatsoever, my school owned exactly 1 HPLC and we were too poor and it was considered too valuable to let undergrads touch it. My first job was complete manufacturing and quality control work using HPLC all day every day. 5 years later I interviewed for a position closer to biochem than chem and again pretty much explained in the interview that I hadn't run a gel or pcr since college and had no experience on whatever other instruments they said they were using in the lab. I had 5 years' HPLC experience but the job didn't use it. The interviewer basically said she didn't care, "it's obvious that you can do the job, at your level this isn't hard, I just want to see that you can answer the question and talk with me about it. After this I'm going to let you get lunch with the team and then hire based on their opinion."
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Dec 3, 2015 00:37
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Pete Zah posted:I was wondering if anybody could give me a bit of a reality check and direction for my situation. Baby chemists can start anywhere, not just QC. If you're an R&D guy (which you probably are if you can do computational chem), you won't be happy in QC.
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Dec 3, 2015 00:47
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Anyone with coatings formulation experience want a job as an R&D product lead for solvent-based paint? Are you willing to live in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina? Let me know.
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Dec 3, 2015 00:48
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I have a job interview tomorrow making drug test kits. Can't wait 
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Dec 3, 2015 13:09
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john ashpool fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Mar 13, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2015 14:26
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So I was about to present a ton of data at our weekly R&D meeting and got an email from our CSO saying "hey come see me in my office ASAP". I head in about 20 minutes later, and am told that there's a 25% staff reduction and that myself and an RA are getting the axe. No notice, no severance. No security or anything, the digital part was "delete email account from your phone". My last check is for 213 dollars. Which was great cause I was wondering how I was going to manage giving notice on such a short timeframe. So yeah guys, if you work for small biotech, beware because it's frequently run by utter shitheads who will always do the worst possible thing.
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Dec 4, 2015 11:19
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Bastard Tetris posted:So I was about to present a ton of data at our weekly R&D meeting and got an email from our CSO saying "hey come see me in my office ASAP". I head in about 20 minutes later, and am told that there's a 25% staff reduction and that myself and an RA are getting the axe. No notice, no severance. No security or anything, the digital part was "delete email account from your phone". My last check is for 213 dollars. Oh don't worry. Size does not matter when it comes to corporate taking a big ol dump on your face.
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Dec 4, 2015 18:21
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Bastard Tetris posted:So I was about to present a ton of data at our weekly R&D meeting and got an email from our CSO saying "hey come see me in my office ASAP". I head in about 20 minutes later, and am told that there's a 25% staff reduction and that myself and an RA are getting the axe. No notice, no severance. No security or anything, the digital part was "delete email account from your phone". My last check is for 213 dollars. Does your employer have 100 or more employees? If so, I recommend reading this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_Adjustment_and_Retraining_Notification_Act
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Dec 4, 2015 19:19
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I think I have the worst job. Crosspost from the gen chem thread our lab and the locker room are adjacent to each other and the GC is literally right next to the locker room door. So half of the GC tanks are next to the GC in the lab, but due to a lack of space, the other half are in the locker room. because of this, the lab manger told me he tries to not hire women because of sexual harassment or some such The tank thing is just one reason why they try not to hire women. My company employs one (1) woman who is a secretary-ish person and works up in the front office. If were were to employ any other women, they would probably file a sexual harassment lawsuit within five minutes. Example. My company buys mineral oil from some other place and the mineral oil company sent down a rep because reasons. The oil rep got the plant tour and she entered the control room. The oil rep was good-looking and entered as some my co-workers talked about needing to remove 10 inches [of oil] from a tank. At that point, one of the guys looked at her and cracked about his 10 inch dick and other suggestive stuff. No joke The guy who made the dick joke also calls me a pussy a lot Other Greatest Hits: Management are the cheapest fucks available. Apparently, last years Christmas Bonus was a $5 or less wawa sandwich. For any actual bonus, we had to go the the company next door shindig. It was pretty good. The owner also reduced the lab from 2 people per shift to only one to save a few bucks The lab notebook doesn't use units. We're supposed to be changing this. Maybe. The 1st shift supervisor/board guy is a psychopath. He's mooned me twice, is way too interested in my sex life, and is an overall unpleasant fellow. He's the guy who made the dick joke to the oil rep A minority owner still works in the lab and his thoughts on this place "yeah, this job/people will bust your balls a bit"
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Dec 6, 2015 02:57
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DOOP posted:I think I have the worst job. Crosspost from the gen chem thread What state is this?
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Dec 6, 2015 14:44
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