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I'm getting back into doing lab work. I'll be a QC tech starting in a week. 
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Feb 21, 2016 18:11
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It's burgin' time! 
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knox_harrington posted:I've been doing my new clinical job in biotech for 5 months now, it's really enjoyable, I'm kicking rear end at it, recognised as doing a great job and working significantly above what I was brought in to do. I'm in the UK but my boss is in the US. How soon is it OK to ask for a raise? 6 months? Only when you can quantitatively demonstrate one of the following 1. A significant increase in your assigned responsibilities, beyond what is defined for your current role (make sure you save a copy of any job listings for which you are hired, to use them as references for such maneuvers) 2. A significant savings or cost-reduction that has come as the direct result of your contributions ("did you make the company any money in a way that can be linked to you"?) 3. A higher-paying offer from somewhere else, and the threat that you will take it unless some agreement can be reached with your current employer (only works once per company) Your best bet is to take any of these into a yearly performance review and use them to talk your yearly raise up. Mid-year raises are pretty rare apart from promotions, and even then you can definitely get promoted and not get a raise (in which case you use the advanced title to leverage a better pay rate elsewhere). No guarantees that any of them will work.
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Feb 21, 2016 20:31
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knox_harrington posted:I've been doing my new clinical job in biotech for 5 months now, it's really enjoyable, I'm kicking rear end at it, recognised as doing a great job and working significantly above what I was brought in to do. I'm in the UK but my boss is in the US. How soon is it OK to ask for a raise? 6 months? By raise do you also mean a promotion/title change? It is probably pretty early to request a title change. Everywhere I have worked has had small annual raises of ~3% whenever they do yearly bonus stuff. Promotions vary a lot from company to company, one company I worked at would give a promotion about every 4-5 years, other companies I have worked at could give promotions after 2 years. Honestly, it did not seem like performance had much of an impact unless you were a complete disaster. I recall at one place I was working at 3 titles above my position (they had a checklist for the responsibilities of every position level), I always had good performance reviews, and it still took 3.5 years and only after my manager kept harassing her manager for 2 years to allow me to get a promotion. Also, a lot of it is political. Not in the sense of "this person does not like you" type stuff, but more "we are allowed 2 promotions in our department a year, otherwise the Eye of
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Feb 22, 2016 10:42
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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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Lab tech on vacation this week. He does the dishes, files paperwork, orders poo poo, and other such saintly duties that keeps the lab going. He rocks. Who doesn't rock is the swing shifter who left a counter of dirty dishes when they left. After I cleaned the thing off when I got there.
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Feb 23, 2016 17:12
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Pain of Mind posted:By raise do you also mean a promotion/title change? It is probably pretty early to request a title change. Everywhere I have worked has had small annual raises of ~3% whenever they do yearly bonus stuff. Promotions vary a lot from company to company, one company I worked at would give a promotion about every 4-5 years, other companies I have worked at could give promotions after 2 years. Honestly, it did not seem like performance had much of an impact unless you were a complete disaster. I recall at one place I was working at 3 titles above my position (they had a checklist for the responsibilities of every position level), I always had good performance reviews, and it still took 3.5 years and only after my manager kept harassing her manager for 2 years to allow me to get a promotion. Also, a lot of it is political. Not in the sense of "this person does not like you" type stuff, but more "we are allowed 2 promotions in our department a year, otherwise the Eye of More I'd like to straight up ask for extra money. I think it would be too much to ask for the next title already. I've found and solved several really big problems with the way we were doing things, then been given the main study to redesign because it wasn't going so well with the existing manager, in addition to my own pivotal study. Definitely achieving more than they were aiming for from me. Sounds like you were in the same type of situation though. I would feel pretty frustrated if I got way more work done than my colleagues and it wasn't recognised.
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Feb 24, 2016 01:05
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Just a quick rant here: applied for an analyst / scientist job end of last year (in a big university translational medicine project) and got kicked back for being "overqualified". But they asked me (as in a personal call from the PI) to apply for another, more senior job in the same project. Cool. Interview went really well, they call for my references and I wait and wait and wait ... and they turn me down. Or, in summary: scientific hiring is just a complete black box to me and the longer I have to deal with it, the less I understand it
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Feb 24, 2016 09:38
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outlier posted:Just a quick rant here: applied for an analyst / scientist job end of last year (in a big university translational medicine project) and got kicked back for being "overqualified". But they asked me (as in a personal call from the PI) to apply for another, more senior job in the same project. Cool. Interview went really well, they call for my references and I wait and wait and wait ... and they turn me down. Yup, sounds spot on. I basically had the exact same thing happen to me for a histotechnologist position, but the job they referred me to was in a completely different laboratory, and for cytotechnology. When I mentioned I wasn't a CTL they said that wouldn't be a problem. A month later... nope, we would prefer a CTL certified applicant, thanks for your time. It will forever be a mystery, the hiring process.
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Feb 24, 2016 15:11
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If you were in my field, I'd say you guys were fodder for posting requirements. They knew who the wanted but couldn't just hire him without interviewing others, so they bring you in to dance for them and the go with the person they wanted all along.
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Feb 24, 2016 15:49
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I was just dressed down by my supervisor for putting a structure upside down in my notebook, Apparently this will alter the stereochemistry.
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Feb 24, 2016 16:26
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Ezekiel_980 posted:I was just dressed down by my supervisor for putting a structure upside down in my notebook, Apparently this will alter the stereochemistry. This made me laugh. Thank you.
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Feb 24, 2016 20:11
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MickeyFinn posted:If you were in my field, I'd say you guys were fodder for posting requirements. They knew who the wanted but couldn't just hire him without interviewing others, so they bring you in to dance for them and the go with the person they wanted all along. I've certainly been in that situation. Show up, the panel is actively disinterested, looking bored, poses a lot of impossible questions (e.g. ask for your solution to some nebulous problem and waves away every answer by saying "we've tried that" / "that won't work"). Later you find there was an internal candidate. Thanks guys. I'm just really tied of hustling for work and would rather just - you know - do my work?
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Feb 25, 2016 12:54
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outlier posted:I've certainly been in that situation. Show up, the panel is actively disinterested, looking bored, poses a lot of impossible questions (e.g. ask for your solution to some nebulous problem and waves away every answer by saying "we've tried that" / "that won't work"). Later you find there was an internal candidate. Thanks guys. For me, the dead giveaway is the punctuality of the meeting. Somehow, you've gathered 3-4 people who can't be on time for anything nearly their whole lives but this meeting is going to begin precisely on time and end precisely on time? No way that is a coincidence.
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Feb 26, 2016 17:02
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So, whats the protocol for adding clients/ex-clients on LinkedIn? I work for a CRO and I've worked pretty closely with some pretty cool people (oddly enough). I just don't want to breach confidentiality or more importantly make the person feel like I am. In the industry side of things, I believe my HR has opened a terrible can of worms. A year after being bought out they adjusted our salaries. They also informed us Scientists I-II for QC, PR&D, and AR&D will now be paid for overtime, which is great news since some of us have put in hundreds of unpaid hours. The "funny " thing is that all the non-middle management PhD's are not eligible and put in tons of extra lab time and are compensated below their market value. So now, these talented chemists are either going to continue working as they did and become extremely bitter or they are going to shove off even more work on to their underlings. It just seems like such an obvious recipe for disaster. Also, our QC just shifted to 7 am - 10 pm coverage, while we have 24 hour pilot plant production. This is absolutely batshit and my current project has already been delayed two days. 
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Feb 26, 2016 20:53
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Just add them, it's fine unless someone has specifically told you not to.
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Feb 27, 2016 07:51
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Feels good to be back in a lab. This last week training has been great. Checking on performance of drug test strips is very interesting.
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Mar 5, 2016 22:23
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Who will be at Pittcon this week? I'm flying in today and will be there until Thursday. I'll be standing in the informatics section all week selling LIMS and LIMS accessories. Most nights I have to go out with my co-workers but if anyone wants to organize and little meet up I'd probably be in.
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Mar 6, 2016 14:57
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So today my boss suddenly decided that we should consider changing from working with a volatile cytotoxic sample in a fume hood to a poorly ventilated potent compound lab just because its the potent compound lab. The last time we did something like this one of my coworkers developed chemical sensitivity to the vapors from the chemicals we were using in the poorly ventilated lab.
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Mar 15, 2016 00:29
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Ezekiel_980 posted:So today my boss suddenly decided that we should consider changing from working with a volatile cytotoxic sample in a fume hood to a poorly ventilated potent compound lab just because its the potent compound lab. The last time we did something like this one of my coworkers developed chemical sensitivity to the vapors from the chemicals we were using in the poorly ventilated lab.
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Mar 15, 2016 00:56
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Today is the day your boss works on the sample, alone, while everyone watches from a safe distance.
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Mar 15, 2016 01:09
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Ezekiel_980 posted:So today my boss suddenly decided that we should consider changing from working with a volatile cytotoxic sample in a fume hood to a poorly ventilated potent compound lab just because its the potent compound lab. The last time we did something like this one of my coworkers developed chemical sensitivity to the vapors from the chemicals we were using in the poorly ventilated lab. Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Mar 15, 2016 |
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Mar 15, 2016 01:11
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Ezekiel_980 posted:So today my boss suddenly decided that we should consider changing from working with a volatile cytotoxic sample in a fume hood to a poorly ventilated potent compound lab just because its the potent compound lab. The last time we did something like this one of my coworkers developed chemical sensitivity to the vapors from the chemicals we were using in the poorly ventilated lab. File an osha complaint if your "no." doesn't work. Then find a lawyer.
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Mar 15, 2016 02:36
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Does soap clog the sink/drain for anyone else or is just me/my lab?
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Mar 15, 2016 03:26
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DOOP posted:Does soap clog the sink/drain for anyone else or is just me/my lab? You should dig out the snake....that doesn't sound right.
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Mar 15, 2016 03:56
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Hypha posted:You should dig out the snake....that doesn't sound right. The explanation I got is that our sink feeds into a vacuum trap and all the soap suds aerate, which blocks the sensor in the trap. Without a functional sensor, the pump turns off (temporarily?) and the sink clogs/overflows.
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Mar 15, 2016 04:24
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Hypha posted:Today is the day your boss works on the sample, alone, while everyone watches from a safe distance. Forgot the best part, boss isn't even allowed in potent lab because they cannot get a clearance for a respirator! Everyonelese posted:Get a lawyer and get a new job Already looking at a few new jobs maybe even my dream job at Bruker but will be a bit before anything happens with that. Since I live in america i have no rights as a worker so all calling OSHA would do is guarantee that they actively try and screw me from anywhere else I apply.
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Mar 15, 2016 11:29
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DOOP posted:Does soap clog the sink/drain for anyone else or is just me/my lab? Check the pipes. I was working in a lab once with a sink that wouldn't drain, and the building guy found a collapsed pvc pipe from someone dumping solvent down the drain like an idiot.
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Mar 15, 2016 13:33
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"Nowhere in the batch record does it say I can't do that..." The 'that' in question is bypassing the end of batch sensors and running waste material into finished product to increase apparent yield. That expression is the loving bane of my existence. I want to murder every operator today. The batch record doesn't say you can't poo poo in a bucket and pour it into the product either, but that doesn't mean it's okay!
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Mar 15, 2016 18:49
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Sundae posted:"Nowhere in the batch record does it say I can't do that..." ... What? Jesus christ. How is this getting past manufacturing supervisors, and if they're included who's getting fired? Where is the top down pressure coming from that made these scum bags think they needed to do this? Basically where is the vp who made a huge stink about increasing yields.
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Mar 15, 2016 19:44
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Sundae posted:"Nowhere in the batch record does it say I can't do that..." Wow and I thought manufacturing analytical were incompetent.
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Mar 15, 2016 20:01
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Spikes32 posted:... What? Jesus christ. How is this getting past manufacturing supervisors, and if they're included who's getting fired? Where is the top down pressure coming from that made these scum bags think they needed to do this? Basically where is the vp who made a huge stink about increasing yields. TBD on all of that. It's being investigated right now, but--just an hunch here--I suspect that the manufacturing site lead who quit literally last Friday may have been involved.
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Mar 15, 2016 20:20
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Sundae posted:"Nowhere in the batch record does it say I can't do that..." Holy screaming poo poo, seriously? Seriously?
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Mar 15, 2016 20:45
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Sundae posted:"Nowhere in the batch record does it say I can't do that..." "rework"
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Mar 16, 2016 00:20
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I'm looking to hire a polymer chemist on my synthesis and scale-up team. Ideally, I want a chemistry nerd with an advanced degree who just knows a lot of chemistry and can run DOEs and communicate the results effectively. We have a brand new plant with a 6000 gallon reactor and we want to develop next generation polymers for a specialty coatings industry. Position is located in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina. E-mail your resume to offwidthcrack at gmail if you're interested or want more details. I'm looking to hire someone quick, so sooner is better than later.
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Mar 16, 2016 00:25
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Sundae posted:TBD on all of that. It's being investigated right now, but--just an hunch here--I suspect that the manufacturing site lead who quit literally last Friday may have been involved. I'm curious where the tip off came to investigate this. Was is out of trend yields or specs being off from the final product testing?
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Mar 16, 2016 00:46
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quote:I'm curious where the tip off came to investigate this. Was is out of trend yields or specs being off from the final product testing? It was impossibly low yields on one particular shift. If they're supposed to throw away a guaranteed 5% of every batch (let's just say) based on the end of the batch position, 1% waste totals are impossible.
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Mar 16, 2016 01:45
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After being a CE-SDS slave for two years, I am finally breaking into the wonderful world of mass spec. And holy poo poo is the data analysis bananas (compared to CE and LC stuff)
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Mar 17, 2016 00:14
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Sundae posted:It was impossibly low yields on one particular shift. If they're supposed to throw away a guaranteed 5% of every batch (let's just say) based on the end of the batch position, 1% waste totals are impossible. So production didn't immediately blame QC for "bad testing" on low yield results and then spend 3 weeks arguing over whose deviation this is? Sounds like you work for a very progressive company!
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Mar 17, 2016 18:35
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Is it weird I kind of sort of like the smell of glutaraldehyde? 
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Mar 18, 2016 00:15
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Dik Hz posted:"rework" NOOOOO!!!! Don't say the 'R' word
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Mar 20, 2016 23:53
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I heart bacon posted:NOOOOO!!!! Don't say the 'R' word
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Mar 21, 2016 22:31
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