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UberChair posted:Within the next year-ish I want to get out of the brewery and into something with a bit more room for advancement - I'm thinking something like project manager. I don't really feel I have the academic background to do formulation or in-depth analysis so I want to get into a position that doesn't quite require years and years of experience in those things, but I'm not opposed to learning if I'm find a job that deals with that (and I actually get hired, ofc). Further than that I would wanna transition into sales or management, but truthfully I have no idea how to even start down the sales road.
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May 24, 2019 02:38
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Dik Hz posted:Have you done any informal project management? If so, take a couple classes and get your PMP. It'll cost a couple grand, but open a bunch of doors. Bits and pieces, but never something end to end. SDSU (I'm in San Diego) offers a project management certificate, though - it's not the PMP, but might help me move into a PM role elsewhere to get the hours to apply for the PMP in the first place.
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May 24, 2019 05:08
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C-Euro posted:How many goons do we have here who work for instrument manufacturers? I'm a chemist looking to get back into a more lab-focused role after spinning my wheels in a regulatory position for a few years. I had a good but unsuccessful interview with an instrument manufacturer last fall for a role that sounded like a mashup of Sales and Technical Support. Basically customers who were already interested in purchasing something would come to them and they'd talk through their research needs and figure out the best instrument from the catalog. Customers would also send samples for the company to test on their in-house instruments to help the decision-making process, and once a quarter the role would road-trip to visit customers on-site for a couple of days. Is that kind of an atypical position, or does that line up with the goons who are in instrumentation? GC/MS former field support, now top level support for gcms software and yeah this sounds very typical. I don't know how all manufacturers do it but we have pre-sales and post sales application support. Mostly pre sales, which means they wind up doing at least some % post sales support out of necessity to do right for the customer. It is a very nice career. You get the inside info, but you still interact with real scientists and not just marketing/sales bozos.
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May 25, 2019 17:56
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It’s pretty much the same in thermal, mechanical, and rheometery.
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May 25, 2019 18:34
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ascii genitals posted:GC/MS former field support, now top level support for gcms software and yeah this sounds very typical. What sort of experience is needed to make the jump to instrument fixer? I'm sick of working in the lab and am thinking of going back to school for IT security but staying on the edges of science seems like something i could make a living at without having to spend money on school.
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May 25, 2019 18:38
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UberChair posted:Bits and pieces, but never something end to end. SDSU (I'm in San Diego) offers a project management certificate, though - it's not the PMP, but might help me move into a PM role elsewhere to get the hours to apply for the PMP in the first place.
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May 26, 2019 02:12
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Shrieking Muppet posted:What sort of experience is needed to make the jump to instrument fixer? I'm sick of working in the lab and am thinking of going back to school for IT security but staying on the edges of science seems like something i could make a living at without having to spend money on school. I started with a BS degree in Chemistry and some experience doing column chromatography to purify reaction mixtures as part of my undergrad research. I also had experience fixing computers and doing network stuff - - nothing incredible, just standard nerd skills like understanding what IP addresses are and how to troubleshoot. I was very willing to work a ton (50,000ish miles per year, about 30% of my base salary in OT.) When I first started I did a lot of the lovely calls to gain the favor of my more experienced coworkers. They really helped me a lot, it was a great team to work with. I moved up and up and eventually applied for a job up at the factory and moved out of the field. I still work within the support organization and so I work closely with field service all over the planet, instead of just my colleagues in the US. I spend a lot of time giving them advice and assisting with escalations, I also work with R&D / application scientists. You must be able to communicate well. You must be flexible. Good field service engineers act as traveling lab psychologists. You need to be a good shoulder to cry on, and you also have to work with a lot of on-the-spectrum scientists who are for sure working far away from the general public for a reason. In my opinion field service is a great career path even if your ultimate goal it to work in sales, marketing, or management. You need to be a bit hosed up in the head to do field service, PARTICULARLY if you do it for 20+ years. I did the job for 10 years before moving into my current role. A field service job is easier to start in than an application engineer/sales product specialist role. If you went right for the job you described I would try again w field service and do it for at least a few years. If you're good at your job you will pick up a lot of useful knowledge and will be able to provide application help in addition to being a lab janitor (doing maintenance, repairs, installs etc.) ascii genitals fucked around with this message at 04:09 on May 26, 2019 |
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May 26, 2019 04:05
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ascii genitals posted:I started with a BS degree in Chemistry and some experience doing column chromatography to purify reaction mixtures as part of my undergrad research. I also had experience fixing computers and doing network stuff - - nothing incredible, just standard nerd skills like understanding what IP addresses are and how to troubleshoot. Hows the training for field guys from your employer, one of our previous service guys worked with Waters for years and said he was fed to the wolves as far as training on different model, eventually he decided to work for us for a bit. He found being in house didn't work for him and left us to work with Agilent, he says the training support is amazing and is much more satisfied working for them.
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May 26, 2019 12:20
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Agilent also tends to train people too fast and on too much, but they're trying to improve that. It depends a lot on your local management. If they are smart they will send you to training and then do a good amount of mentoring before just throwing you out there. You've always got support, it can just seem like you're on your own. It also depends geographically because if you're in the Midwest you may need to cover more products simply because there are fewer service engineers covering a big area. Whereas in say Boston it would be easier to specialize someone on just LCMS or just atomic spectsocopy, or whatever. I was a generalist but mainly did GC, gcms, GC headspace etc. Some LC but not as much. For all the bullshit it's a very good job and a very good company. ascii genitals fucked around with this message at 02:21 on May 27, 2019 |
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May 26, 2019 14:06
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ascii genitals posted:Agilent also tends to train people too fast and on too much, but they're trying to improve that. It depends a lot on your local management. If they are smart they will send you to training and then do a good amount of mentoring before just throwing you out there. You've always got support, it can just seem like you're on your own. On something else, what molecule is that on your avatar. I see a peptide bond but then something completely else.
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May 27, 2019 07:23
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Cardiac posted:On something else, what molecule is that on your avatar. I'm curious too. Aminophenyllactate or something?
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May 27, 2019 12:33
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Haha I don't remember  I set the avatar a couple years ago. It was something random I liked because it was a nice mix of functional groups. I remember it was just a piece of something much larger.If you guys have more questions about field service or application engineer stuff feel free to PM.
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May 27, 2019 14:18
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Recently we had an Agilent tech improperly plumb a flow modulator on our LCMS. Instead of splitting 2:100 between the mass spec and fraction collector, 99% the flow was going to the mass spec. Took a bit of time troubleshooting the delay calculation before I just checked the flow coming out to find the problem.
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May 27, 2019 16:49
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Cardiac posted:On something else, what molecule is that on your avatar.
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May 29, 2019 00:22
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Thanks for the instrumentation/field service feedback (and for the PM tesserae), that work sounds appealing because I like problem-solving and helping people, but also feel compelled to use my Chemistry degree for something. I also spent time on a bunch of different instruments in my MS program so it's a space that I've been in before. Gotta see how I feel about the travel though... Any advice on how to best market myself for this type of role? Like UberChair I have a lot of experience in different fields but nothing really deep- three years of my MS program, two years in QC, four years in Regulatory, so it's been a while since I've been in hard science. My current role is somewhat customer-facing but not as much as a sales or field engineer role. E: My wife says I should just look up the top instrument companies and just fire off resumes, but we'll see! The guy who got me my last field service interview said to expect a call from him soon... C-Euro fucked around with this message at 03:10 on May 29, 2019 |
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May 29, 2019 02:55
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Dik Hz posted:That molecule is annoying the gently caress out of me, because it looks like someone tried to draw phenylalanine and failed. Looks like a tiny fragment of some much larger natural product.
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May 29, 2019 13:21
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OnceIWasAnOstrich posted:Looks like a tiny fragment of some much larger natural product. Yep. I thought it was from some polypeptide with some crazy phenylalanine derivative on it.
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May 29, 2019 14:24
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I am glad this is causing so much frustration lmao. It definitely is some snippet of a big natural product but I have no idea what I took it from.
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May 29, 2019 15:24
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ascii genitals posted:I am glad this is causing so much frustration lmao. It definitely is some snippet of a big natural product but I have no idea what I took it from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paclitaxel
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May 29, 2019 22:59
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Ah, yeah. Taxol, the archetypical complex biological molecule.
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May 29, 2019 23:05
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Taxol full image
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May 29, 2019 23:10
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You've cracked the case!!!! I did some research with stuff that binds to the site so that makes sense.
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May 30, 2019 12:39
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Here's a random question: can anybody help me with the terminology for these plastic slide/paraffin block holders? I've tried searching online for them multiple times and I always end up  because I just can't narrow the results down. Searches like "plastic slide rack" or "plastic slide holder" or "paraffin block storage" have gotten me nothing, wondering if anybody here has a proper name, or a manufacturer, or a unit name for these. Thanks! 
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May 30, 2019 15:57
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Is that actually a plastic slide holder? Looks like the packaging to something completely different that happens to work well as a little rest for slides.
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May 30, 2019 16:14
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RadioPassive posted:Is that actually a plastic slide holder? Looks like the packaging to something completely different that happens to work well as a little rest for slides. It is actually a plastic holder of some sort, haha. I think its original use is for paraffin blocks, but like you said it just happens to work perfectly for slides. I wish there was some kind of packaging that would work as a little slide staging device, I'd purchase a large amount of whatever that packaging held just for these things!
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May 30, 2019 16:18
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This is probably what 3d printing is for.
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May 30, 2019 16:22
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Johnny Truant posted:Here's a random question: can anybody help me with the terminology for these plastic slide/paraffin block holders? I've tried searching online for them multiple times and I always end up Maybe here? https://www.marketlab.com/specimen-handling/c/specimen-trays/ e: https://www.marketlab.com/acrylic-slide-drying-rack/p/AcrylicSlideDryingRack/ https://www.americanmastertech.com/acrylic-35-slide-drying-rack-eachlws1235.html That Works fucked around with this message at 16:32 on May 30, 2019 |
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May 30, 2019 16:29
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That Works posted:Maybe here? I've seen a lot of drying racks, which are close, but I'm just using these as a staging area for holding slides/paraffin blocks while I'm sectioning. This processing tray is the closest thing to what I'm looking for, but it's very small and far nicer than what I really need these holders for. I've seen these exact holders now at my current job and my previous job back in Chicago, so they're definitely their own thing, I just can't quite pinpoint what exactly that thing... is. I actually think I'll try and reach out to someone in my previous lab, perhaps they know. Thanks for the help, though!
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May 30, 2019 16:38
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Anyone going to BIO 2019 in Philly this week? I live in the area and am debating if it would be a good idea to spend $325 and 8 hours of PTO to go prowl the exhibition floor for a day in the hopes of chatting up some instrument manufacturers.
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Jun 3, 2019 03:06
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We had a total power failure in lab a few days ago, with only generator power working. Ruined plenty of experiments, but one of my colleagues found out that one specific outlet at one specific hood was, for some reason, powered by the generators. So... That's an RNAscope, doing its thing, on the floor! 
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Jun 8, 2019 16:12
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So after posting a couple weeks back about wanting to get into instrument sales/applications I have a phone screen tomorrow for a field service engineer position  They're looking for someone who lives right around where I live right now, which hopefully helps my case. However, the job description says 75% travel, including "4-5 days per week in the field servicing customers; 2-4 nights per week away from home in hotels". I don't know the whole service area for the position but none of the cities they listed by name are that far away from me. Does frequent overnight travel sound appropriate for this type of role? A guy I spoke to at a conference last week said to avoid anything over 50% travel if I wanted to have a family life...
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Jun 12, 2019 03:43
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C-Euro posted:So after posting a couple weeks back about wanting to get into instrument sales/applications I have a phone screen tomorrow for a field service engineer position So, I think I PM'd you briefly a few years ago about the FSE role I used to have. Long story short, I officially was at a 50% travel target but I know in one calendar year I counted I was away from home 145 days. It didn't help that my service territory was 'North America'. I really liked the role and all my coworkers but 5 years was enough for me. On the other hand, it also opened up doors for me that I would have never had access to otherwise, because I don't have an MS or PhD. It just so happened that I got married and had a kid soon after leaving that role and I can't possibly imagine going back. I'm sorry this isn't super helpful, but I would make a billion % sure that you and your wife are on the same page, because you being gone that much is going to impact your lives in ways you probably can't predict.
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Jun 12, 2019 19:34
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"Hmm... temperature's a little high this week. Heat wave. Eh, we can still run batches. We're a huge facility with an enormous HVAC system, so there shouldn't be--" *humidity control fails* "Well, if we get it done quickly before humidity rises--" *two compressors, a boiler and the entire exhaust fan system fail* "Well poo poo." *all our VBSEs and flow hoods go into alarm* "ENOUGH ALREADY! WE'RE STOPPING!"
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Jun 12, 2019 20:53
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So today was going fine until 2:30, then the XRPD decided to fail when we need to run and IPC. I called the vendor for a service call but I have to wait for the engineer to call back to book the appointment. Meanwhile all the managers are screaming at me to get this fixed like it’s my fault the service guy won’t call back.
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Jun 12, 2019 21:02
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majestic12 posted:So, I think I PM'd you briefly a few years ago about the FSE role I used to have. Long story short, I officially was at a 50% travel target but I know in one calendar year I counted I was away from home 145 days. It didn't help that my service territory was 'North America'. I really liked the role and all my coworkers but 5 years was enough for me. On the other hand, it also opened up doors for me that I would have never had access to otherwise, because I don't have an MS or PhD. I do remember that PM and I might still have it lol. Yeah my main apprehension with this field is having to travel a bunch at a time when my wife and I are planning to have a child. However, the phone screen today made it sound like the travel area for the role is much smaller than I previously assumed and I can set my own road schedule with some flexibility (and work from home the rest of the time), which sounds much more tenable.
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Jun 12, 2019 21:23
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C-Euro posted:I do remember that PM and I might still have it lol. Yeah my main apprehension with this field is having to travel a bunch at a time when my wife and I are planning to have a child. However, the phone screen today made it sound like the travel area for the role is much smaller than I previously assumed and I can set my own road schedule with some flexibility (and work from home the rest of the time), which sounds much more tenable. My mate from when we were kids' dad was an fse, and was gone all the time. They still have a good relationship, but I would say his dad being gone all the time affected him A Lot.
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Jun 12, 2019 23:08
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C-Euro posted:I do remember that PM and I might still have it lol. Yeah my main apprehension with this field is having to travel a bunch at a time when my wife and I are planning to have a child. However, the phone screen today made it sound like the travel area for the role is much smaller than I previously assumed and I can set my own road schedule with some flexibility (and work from home the rest of the time), which sounds much more tenable. I had a lot of coworkers with kids, I also had a few divorced coworkers lol. If your wife hates the idea of you being gone say 1 or 2 nights a week don't take the job. This really depends on employer as well as the current workload. Some months I didn't stay in a hotel once, others I was gone for 2 weeks. Even if you don't actually have to stay overnight keep in mind these are not 9-5 jobs.
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Jun 13, 2019 00:00
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Epitope posted:My mate from when we were kids' dad was an fse, and was gone all the time. They still have a good relationship, but I would say his dad being gone all the time affected him A Lot. Oooof, that's the last thing I want to hear. Can you recall if it was an issue of overnight travel, or an issue of frequent irregular hours? ascii genitals posted:I had a lot of coworkers with kids, I also had a few divorced coworkers lol. If your wife hates the idea of you being gone say 1 or 2 nights a week don't take the job. Yeah, the job listing said 75% travel but in talking to their HR rep she claimed that 75% was a huge over-estimate. The main cities she mentioned as being in the service area are also all less than 2 hours away by car, so I have a hard time seeing hotel travel being necessary unless I road trip to hit several customers in a day or two. I guess we'll see what the regional manager says if I get to talk with them.
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Jun 13, 2019 02:03
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What type of autistic moron came up with the SMARTS query syntax? I just want to look through our fragment library in an easy manner using KNIME and not learn a new crazy language.
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Jun 13, 2019 17:38
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majestic12 posted:It didn't help that my service territory was 'North America'. I really liked the role and all my coworkers but 5 years was enough for me. With a smaller territory I might have stayed longer in my FSE position. North America is a lot of travel when you have a team of 2-3. If your territory seems manageable you will be okay. Just know that if there's an emergency, you're helping out. My wife hated me being gone more than I did. I didn't particularly enjoy it but it wasn't horrible. Was fun to see new cities, but was a lot less fun without my wife - we do most things together. Sucks to not be able to make plans mid week because you may be flying out that day too. This isn't too discourage you, but definitely talk about it a lot and think about the family life implications. Feel out the waters with this interview.
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Jun 13, 2019 18:02
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