Research Laboratory Technician
Francis is a Laboratory Technician at The Sainsbury Laboratory
I’m a Laboratory Technician at The Sainsbury Laboratory. My work includes preparing different chemicals, buffers and growth media that researchers use in their experiments. Growth media is a substance that can be used to provide nutrients to plants and bacteria. I also make sure that our machines are working properly, and the laboratory equipment is clean, so everything is ready to be used and researchers can focus on carrying out their work.
I enjoy the structure of my work. You come in and know what needs to be done and in what order. Sometimes, we might get hit with a few curveballs like a machine breaking down or having to make an order we haven’t made before. We have to work around this and find quick solutions, which makes it even more interesting!
Using my initiative and working efficiently are really important skills for this role. Often, we need to figure out how to use the least amount of resources while completing a task. For example, when making growth media, if the ingredients are the same but just different volumes, then I’ll use the same beaker to save time and resources. Time management is also important, as we need to get different things ready at certain times.
Our team is small – just the three of us. If I was doing all the work alone, I’d be overwhelmed as it’s a busy laboratory, so having teammates makes everything go a lot smoother. We’re not super formal either, it’s more like working with friends, and we get on really well, which makes working fun! We also share tasks between us, whether it’s handling machines, collecting glassware or preparing the growth media.
The tip washer is probably my favourite piece of equipment. It cleans plastic pipette tips, making sure there are no chemicals or dyes in them. This means the pipette tips can be reused, which cuts down on waste. It’s also one of the newest machines in the lab and one of the first in Europe, so it’s cool to be one of the few people who know how to use it!
Enjoy your free time as much as you can. Once you’re in full-time work, it can be easy to wonder where all that free time went! Make the most of your youth by balancing studies with things you enjoy and use this time to explore a career that interests and excites you.
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