TOBY SIMMONDS took an unconventional route to becoming a scientist. A struggling farmer with no farm, he returned home from one short-term contract too many and took a job in the canteen at Cancer Research UK鈥檚 laboratories. After a conversation with a researcher at the charity, he found himself looking after fish in a new facility. He began studying applied biology. Despite having little experience of laboratory work he was taken on by another researcher, purifying proteins for research as part of a team that supports some of the charity鈥檚 projects. Today, he is proud of his work. 鈥淓minent scientists come and ask me for advice,鈥� he says.
The story is not what you might expect from your typical technician, but then people become technicians for so many reasons it is hard to say what a typical technician is. Is it the school-leaver looking for something more stimulating than an office job, the graduate who wants hands-on work in the lab, or the postdoc with a family in search of job security? The answer is all of them, which raises the question: what do employers want from their technicians when job applicants have such diverse skills and education? What qualifications does a technician need, what character traits does it take to succeed, and what roles can technicians expect to perform?
Simmonds made it without a degree, although that鈥檚 unusual for a technician who carries out experimental work. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 a graduate these days,鈥� he says. Louise Hewitt, a chief technician at the University of Manchester, says the level of qualification expected from new research technicians has increased. 鈥淭en years ago technical positions went to people with an HNC 鈥� an academic and practical qualification,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow there are more degrees, first-class degrees. We sometimes have postdocs applying.鈥� She puts this down to the competitiveness of finding a postdoc position, which encourages people to look elsewhere for a good job.
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As the academic credentials of technicians have increased, so has the amount of research they do. 鈥淵ou have your own project as a focus and interest,鈥� Hewitt says. That also means more chances to be an author on papers. Meanwhile, other parts of the role have fallen by the wayside. 鈥淚f a piece of kit breaks down, you send it away to be repaired now. Twenty years ago I would have done it myself.鈥�
Degrees are not expected for all technician roles however, and are less common among technicians who do not carry out research but focus instead on lab management. Barry Davies is the UK lab services manager at AstraZeneca and employs technicians to 鈥渉elp the laboratory tick鈥�. They do everything from ordering materials to managing waste, looking after machines and overseeing safety. 鈥淭hey are very bright individuals who really manage the labs day-to-day and enable the scientists to focus on research,鈥� he says.
The technicians tend to have A-levels or HNCs, and Davies says they can be split into two broad camps. There are those who would never have imagined themselves working in the R&D labs of a company like AstraZeneca, he says; then there are those who take jobs as a stepping stone to work their way up to R&D positions.
Larry Gifford knows how hard it can be to work your way up. Now a professor and head of the school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Manchester, he left school at the age of 16 and took a job as a technician in the labs at ICI while studying chemistry at night school. A degree in chemistry and a PhD followed and Gifford鈥檚 career took off, but he has not forgotten the long hours spent working all day and studying in the evenings. He says little has changed for the technicians he works with who do not have degrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 no easier to progress now than when I started,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e encourage all our technicians to try to gain further qualifications, but it鈥檚 much harder to get to a significant position if you start as a technician.鈥�
Even if you have a degree, it can be hard to make the move into research if you are working as a technician. 鈥淥nce you鈥檙e out of academia, it鈥檚 hard to get back in,鈥� Hewitt says. 鈥淚t can be done if you鈥檙e in the right lab with the right backing.鈥� Equality between labs is an issue now, she adds. Some university groups are much more supportive of their technicians than others when they want training and new qualifications. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a grey area.鈥�
However, for some there is little incentive to switch jobs, given how good a research technician鈥檚 salary, pension scheme and job security can be. For those who enjoy working in a lab, being a research technician can be preferable to being an academic. Sue Patterson, at Newcastle University, studied for a PhD but for personal reasons did not submit her thesis, and became a research technician instead. She has never looked back. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in the hands-on side,鈥� she says. 鈥淎cademics do a lot of teaching, meetings and paperwork.鈥� She avoids most of this, but finds she is at least as involved in the experimental side of research as the academics. 鈥淩esearchers tend to initiate projects but you might adapt the methodology. Their academic background knowledge is better, but technicians know what happens in the lab.鈥�
The role of a research technician is blurring with that of a research assistant. 鈥淭he dividing line is very fine,鈥� says Jeremy Barnes, a professor of environmental biology at Newcastle University. Technicians probably take less of a lead in writing and presenting work, but they often contribute in much the same way as research assistants, he adds.
The varied work of a technician makes the ability to multitask important. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably the most demanding role in the university,鈥� says Barnes. 鈥淧atience is the biggest virtue.鈥� Davies cites an enthusiasm for science and the ability to self-manage as important, because many technicians are left to their own devices on a day-to-day basis. Hewitt says you must also be adaptable in order to keep pace with new techniques, and be able to teach these skills to new members of the lab. 鈥淵ou really need to be Wonder Woman,鈥� she says.
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Another necessary trait is taking pride in your work. Shoddy workmanship just won鈥檛 wash when it comes to purifying proteins, says Simmonds. This can put technicians in a tricky position if doing the job really well might cost the project time and money. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a can of worms, as you never know how long it will take until you start,鈥� he says. Going that extra mile could mean the job takes twice as long as the scientists expected. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e communicating back and forwards when there is a cost involved.鈥�
Multi-talented technicians can be highly valued. Gifford, for example, has not forgotten how he started out. 鈥淗aving been a technician I can see things from their point of view,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 know they have a lot to offer.鈥� Davies also knows their importance to industry. 鈥淭hey play a valued role within the organisation,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see individuals getting so close to it and contributing to drug discovery.鈥�
That does not mean it is a glamorous role. 鈥淭hey get a bum deal in terms of publicity,鈥� Barnes says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 get the accolades or the plaudits.鈥� But Simmonds thinks job satisfaction can more than make up for that. 鈥淚 used to think I was a second-class scientist, but as I鈥檝e got more experienced I鈥檝e become quite proud of the skills I have. I go to conferences now and then, and as I listen to eminent scientists that I have worked for, the names of proteins we made pop up. I don鈥檛 get cited or named, but it鈥檚 nice to know my little part of the jigsaw is being used.鈥�
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