As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

TOSIN ADEDIPE

Technical Project Manager Energy and Sustainability Cranfield University

• 2011-Present: Technical Project Manager
• 2021: PhD Cranfield University
• 2017: MSc Cranfield University
• 2015-2016: Project Management Associate
• 2012: Offshore gas projects intern Total Energies (industrial placement)
• 2008-2013: BEng Covenant University

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

I have had a squiggly career and I think it’s what has helped me be open minded about working in the technical field. I was looking to get involved in technical research projects and had insightful conversations with different professionals. There happened to be an opening for a Technical Project Manager role, which seemed to fit what I was looking for – that intersection between research, project management, and getting things done to improve energy technology. I assumed that most PhDs become researchers or consultants but was delighted to know that there are many different paths.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

I am in my early career and working with a growing team of technicians. I have an engineering background and studied for a BEng in petroleum engineering, an MSc in offshore and ocean technology and a research degree (PhD) in renewable energy projects. I had an industrial placement in my year in industry during my undergraduate studies and got exposed to the wider energy industry. I now work in the hydrogen technology space, where we are building a hydrogen pilot plant at Cranfield University (HyPER).

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

Speaking with other professionals, attending events/trainings and getting mentoring in areas of interest.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

Working at the centre of the hydrogen revolution to develop technologies that make energy cheaper and cleaner. It is a challenging one but has opened me up to the wider technical world and the possibilities of a cleaner energy mix.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

I want to deliver more technology-development projects to achieve the net-zero ambition.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

Have an open mind (this was advice I got in my first industrial placement), speak to more professionals about what they do and be open to learning. It will give you a better perspective and motivation about what you do and how it fits into the wider world of engineering and technology.

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we collaborated with professionals in their field to create a new series titled "A Day in the Life of a...". This series aims to highlight the responsibilities of these roles and provide insight into their daily activities. In this article by Charli Corcoran (University of Edinburgh), we learn more about what a day in the life of a Zebrafish Facility Technician looks like.

Take a usual day in your role, what do you normally do in the mornings? How do you start work?

I normally start work between 9:30 – 10:00 depending on the traffic on my commute in. The lights in the zebrafish facility don't come on till 9am – the fish lay their eggs at sunrise and a lot of the work that goes on in the facility requires eggs.  We don't disturb the fish before then as it might affect their willingness to breed, so my day doesn't start before 9am.

One of the aquarium rooms at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer Zebrafish Facility

Every day is different, but generally, I start by checking in on the fish in the facility.  We have three rooms, each of which has a recirculating aquaculture system and a whole bunch of other equipment necessary for caring for thousands of small fish.  I check in on the fish and the tank systems to make sure everything looks alright.  I also check out what baby fish we have in our incubators, to make sure that they are all in the right place and can be taken care of properly through the day.  As you can imagine, research involving animals is heavily legislated, so a lot of my job is to make sure that we as a facility are compliant with that legislation.  It's important for us to know what is going on so that we can deal with any potential issues before they happen.

The filtration equipment for one of the aquariums at the IGC Zebrafish Facility

Mornings are also time for routine equipment maintenance.  Today I spent the morning in our quarantine facility changing the filters and calibrating our monitoring equipment.  Doing the tasks in the morning allows time for things to settle afterwards, and for any issues to be solved well before it's time to go home for the day.  We like to avoid 3am callouts whenever possible. Maintenance can be anything from changing the mechanical filters and calibrating the probes to testing water quality, and each piece of equipment has its own schedule, so there's always something different to do.

Once equipment maintenance is done, I can check in on any breeding pairs, or tanks that I am hoping to get eggs from.  As the fish lay at sunrise, we set up any mating the night before.  One way to do this with minimal disturbances to the fish is to put trays of marbles into their tanks.  In the wild, zebrafish lay their eggs in shallow water, amongst pebbles and our marbles mimic that environment for them.  Once they have laid their eggs, we can remove the tray and collect the eggs.  If we have eggs, they then get cleaned and sorted before being put in the incubator to keep them at a constantly warm temperature.

What happens at lunchtime? Do you usually have the same lunch hour?

Lunchtime is variable, and I try to have lunch at a time that suits the work that I have on each day.  Some days I can have lunch at 12, and others not until 2.   I usually eat lunch at my desk and try to catch up on activities that I do on a voluntary basis – I am the Communications Coordinator for the Technician Steering Committee, so I update the website or scroll through social media to share resources. Today, I have a meeting about the Technician Podcast that I contribute too.  I also help out with the online community Zebrafish Rock so that takes up some of my lunch times too. 

What do you normally do after lunch?

After lunch, I do the facility welfare checks.  This is a task that must be done every day.  I check on each fish to make sure that they are healthy and there are no concerns over their welfare.  As you can imagine, this can take some time as we have thousands of fish in our facility.  We discuss any welfare concerns with the researcher who is responsible for the fish, and any necessary actions are taken.  

Once that is done, I try to spend a little bit of time maintaining our rotifer colony and feeding them to our very young fish.  Then I can work through whatever might be on my to do list for the rest of the day.  Today I have some fish that are now big enough to move from our nursery to the main system, so I will be working on that.

One of the last jobs we do is to set up any breeding tanks, or marbling that might be needed for the next day.

Fish Facility Staff: Charli Corcoran, Cameron Wyatt, Jonny Smith

How do you wrap up work for the day?

There are several tasks that must be done before I have finished work.  We have a few spaces in the institute where we are allowed to take fish (usually very young fish) temporarily for things like imaging, so I check those places for any adventurous baby fish that might need a lift back to their incubators, and there are a few incubators that also need checking every day as well.  I also give each room a last check, looking for any containers that might need to be topped up, checking on any maintenance done earlier in the day and saying goodnight to the fish.  Then I can let myself go home!

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

I think it's possibly quite cliché,  but I do enjoy the variety of tasks that my job involves, and the incredible opportunities that I get through it.  Last year we ran a workshop at the science festival and I was also able to attend a husbandry workshop in Italy and today I was chatting with pupils at my children's school during their careers assembly.  I love that I have the opportunity to do all these things alongside doing work that I enjoy.  I'm lucky that I work with a really supportive team  – in 2023 the zebrafish team won a CMVM Staff Recognition award for Community Outreach.

Zebrafish Facility Team Charli Corcoran, Cameron Wyatt and Jonny Smith at the CMVM Staff Recognition Awards 2023

What is the hardest part of your job?

I do find it quite hard to switch off from work sometimes.  I think that's quite common in jobs that involve caring for animals – just because we've gone home doesn't mean that everything stops in the facility, and I can find it difficult to stop worrying about things that could be happening.

What are some of your hobbies/extracurricular activities?

I like to make clothes when I have free time, especially if there's an event coming up – I'm excited to get started making Christmas party outfits for my children.  I also enjoy running but during the winter I find it takes a bit of a backseat to sitting inside in the warmth and sewing instead.
 

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

JO GREEN

Technical Manager School of Chemistry University of Nottingham

• 2022-Present: Senior Operations Manager for the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham
• 2019-2021: Apprenticeship ILM Level 5 in Operations and Departmental Management
• 2018-2022: Undergraduate Laboratory Technical Manager, Chemistry, University of Nottingham
• 2011-2018: Senior Technician, Chemistry, University of Nottingham
• 2009-2011: Teaching Technician, Chemistry, University of Nottingham
• 2008-2009: Physical Chemistry Teaching Technician, Nottingham Trent University
• 2000-2002: Stable Isotope Technician, British Geological Survey
• 1998-2000: Day release, BTEC Chemistry & Applied Science, People's College
• 1998-2000: Trainee Research Technician, Chemistry, University of Nottingham

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

I left school before finishing my A-Levels without any clear idea of what I wanted to do, so took an administrative job processing orders. I wasn’t really enjoying this role, it wasn’t challenging, so when I saw an advert for a trainee technician in the School of Chemistry, I applied as I had enjoyed science based subjects at school and this seemed like a great starting point to a career in science with training included.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

As part of the trainee technician scheme, I shadowed other technicians in the three different areas of the Chemistry department and started a BTEC at a local FE college. Just prior to completing my traineeship I applied for an Assistant Support Scientist position for the British Geological Survey, which allowed me to complete my BTEC and gave me a great opportunity to develop on the job skills in both the Radiogenic and Stable Isotope departments. After 9 years in this role I wanted a change of environment and applied for a physical chemistry teaching technician role at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). After a year, I saw a similar opportunity at the University of Nottingham and a chance to expand the role I was doing. The skills I had gained at NTU meant I was able to successfully apply for a teaching technician role at the University of Nottingham (UoN). Over the last 12 years at UoN my role has grown significantly as student recruitment has increased. I was fortunate to be involved in a refurbishment project to change the laboratory I was responsible for into a multi-disciplinary super lab. The impact this had on the scale of my role resulted in me progressing to Senior Teaching Technical Manager.

During my time in this role, I took the decision that in the future I wanted to move away from working directly in labs and progress towards a career in Operations Management as I had gained a lot of skills that would cross over into this area. In 2019 alongside whilst working, I studied a L5 Apprenticeship funded by the Government Apprenticeship Levy in Operations and Departmental Management which I successfully completed in 2021.

I have since moved into a new role in 2022 as Senior Operations Manager for the School of Biosciences at UoN.

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

Shadowing other colleagues, being open to trying new ideas, challenging myself when new opportunities arose – even if it meant moving to a new company. Management courses and taking advantage of other in-house training opportunities were also helpful activities. Most recently I completed an apprenticeship in Operational & Departmental Management which equipped me with the relevant qualification for the career progression I wanted to pursue.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

Gaining more responsibility and being responsible for implementing new ideas and seeing the outcomes. Leading my team through significant change successfully was very satisfying and allowed me to upskill and regrade them. I also had a fantastic experience of going out to our China campus for two weeks to collaborate with their technicians. It was possibly a unique opportunity for a technician to get involved with our overseas campuses so I felt very privileged to be a part of this.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

To take every opportunity to try new ideas, develop my role and develop those people around me. Now my apprenticeship in Operational & Departmental Management is completed and I’ve secured a role in this area. I intend to apply all I have learned to develop my role to be able to progress further in this field.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

Even if something looks impossible or difficult, get out of your comfort zone and never say ‘no’ without really thinking whether something is achievable. Take risks and opportunities, try something new.

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

DR TOM KNOTT (AFHEA)

Senior Analyst
School of Geography, Geology and the Environment University of Leicester

• 2018-Present: Senior Analyst (specialising in XRF and SEM)
• 2015-2018: X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) technician
• 2015: Lecturer in Structural Geology (Fixed Term), University of Leicester
• 2014-2015: Honorary Research Associate, University of Leicester
• 2010-2014: PhD, University of Leicester
• 2009: European petrophysics consortium technician, IODP, University of Leicester
• 2005-2009: MGeol in Geology, University of Leicester

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

As a PhD student I found the support of technicians invaluable, particularly those with expertise into particular analytical techniques/methods. When it came to method development and analytical understanding the technicians became almost informal co-supervisors with respect to my training and development. When I became aware that one of my mentors was retiring, I was extremely interested in the post and applied as an X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) technician. I now strive to be as useful and supportive to users of the labs as my mentor was to me, and every day I find that my expertise grows. A technician never stops learning and developing their expertise, and it is an aspect of the job that I love.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

I started my technical career as an XRF technician (see above) and spent the first 2/3 years developing my expertise in the physics and use of X-Rays in chemical analyses, particularly of geological materials. In 2017/18 I was then asked to translate my expertise to take the lead in our new state-or-the-art analytical SEM lab. This involved commissioning the new equipment and detectors etc, and at present I continue to devise and optimise methods to offer a high-standard of data and image acquisitions as applied to many ongoing geoscience and materials research projects. This was a step-up in responsibility and the challenges that came with it, but a progression I have never looked back from.

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

The availability to engage with an ever growing network of hard- working and experienced technicians, both within and outside my host institution, has been extremely useful. This is facilitated by user groups in particular techniques or by presenting and discussing at international conferences. The advantage to my career development of being able to supplement self-learning with the experiences and knowledge of my peers cannot go understated.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

As above I particularly enjoyed the responsibility and challenge of setting up and leading the new SEM lab. However, a particular highlight for me came in 2018 when I was invited to join the ‘Discovering Excellence’ awards at the University of Leicester. I was invited by academics of the applied and environmental geology group to join them as they were nominated as finalists in the “Team of the year” category. This was in recognition of the analytical support I had provided for their research, and it was a gesture that I really appreciated.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

I aspire to continue to grow my expertise and hope that this is recognised within my discipline. In particular I aim to seek professional registration as a Chartered Scientist (CSci) with the Institute of Science and Technology (IST). I am fortunate to be working in a career that I love, and I mostly aspire for this to continue for many more years.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

Never be afraid to admit something you don’t know and simultaneously never allow any learning opportunity to pass you by. As I have matured in age and confidence my passion for learning has heightened, and I would advise my younger self to find this passion as early as possible and to ask more questions free from the fear of embarrassment. If you don’t recognise gaps in your knowledge and seek to fill these then your expertise can’t grow to its full potential. Within any fulfilling career the learning never stops, so ensure you take full advantage.

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we collaborated with professionals in their field to create a new series titled "A Day in the Life of a...". This series aims to highlight the responsibilities of these roles and provide insight into their daily activities. In this article by Michael Capeness (The Horsfall Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh), we learn more about what a day in the life of a lab manager looks like.

How would you describe your role to others? 

I normally say that I am a Lab Manager. This means I help maintain and run a laboratory and the people in it, but I also carry out research in line with the lab’s interests in recapturing metals from waste using bacteria. 

Talk us through a normal day as a Lab Manager 

I arrive at the lab around 8:00 am, my first port of call is to get the pot of coffee on the go and turn my computer on. While they both warm up I walk around the various labs, making sure there have been no problems overnight with the various incubators we have. If everything is shaking away happily, I go through my emails. Normally there might be one or two from my PI or my colleagues, and perhaps an update about some of the items such as chemicals I have ordered, or an automatic alert about a new paper in my field. As my fellow lab members arrive, I ask them how they are, if they need anything for the day, such as from our local stores, or get back to them about any questions they may have had when I wasn’t around.  

I can now start lab work, I’ll check the growth of the bacterial cultures or plates I set up yesterday, this will dictate what I need to do the rest of the day. I’ll also begin to carry out a little bit of genetic engineering, such as setting up a PCR, and restriction digest of DNA. These things normally take a long time to incubate, and/or have multiple steps, so the morning is the best place to start them. While I’m waiting for things to finish, I’ll take care of smaller tasks, perhaps I’ll make a bit of media and get it sterilized to fill a few tip boxes.  

Lunchtime is dictated by the microbes I work on and what practical things I’m carrying out. If my bacteria are ready to be used, then my lunch waits until I’ve finished with them. As such it may be best to have an early or later lunch if I know I’m going to miss it. Often, it can be split into a couple of 10 minutes fragments around the middle of the day. Similarly, if I have a piece of equipment booked, I’ll be using that as access to such devices is prescribed by their availability, not mine.  

After lunch, the lab tends to be at its fullest, I’ve normally been asked a few questions and had a few more emails about things. So, I can take care of those, I’ve also noticed one or two items in the lab need to be restocked so I’ll do some ordering, both internal and external. If the morning's experiments have gone well, I’ll continue with those or troubleshoot them if they didn’t. I’ll perhaps transform E. coli with the DNA I was manipulating earlier, and also set up new cultures/plates for the following day. I also tend to help my colleagues with the running of samples in other buildings, such as the electron microscope in physics or biology, and some chemical analysis machinery in chemistry, so this can be a big part of my afternoon. I’ll also have very informal meetings with some of the PhD students about their new set of results or if they were having problems with one of their experiments, so we’ll troubleshoot that together.  

Normally once everything is in an incubated ready for tomorrow, or in a freeze/fridge I’ll have one last look through my emails to see if there are any urgent problems or to give me an idea of what I need to take care of first thing tomorrow. Much like my day started, I’ll have one last walk around the labs to see if everything/one is behaving and wish anyone left still working a nice evening.  

What do you enjoy the most about your job? 

I really enjoy helping people and enabling them to carry out their experiments. This can be from the planning stage, working through a hypothesis and how to test it, to the lab work stage, actually helping them get their data and analyze it. This makes each day quite diverse which is another great aspect of my job.  

What is the hardest part of your job?  

I do a lot of things, often which need to be done at once, I’m pulled in many directions by the needs of the lab and the people in it. Balancing and prioritizing this can be tricky.  

What are some of your hobbies/extracurricular activities?  

Outside of my normal work, our lab takes part in public engagement of the science. This often involves translating the science that we do in the lab for young children (and their parents), which is always very fun. We try to make this as engaging as possible, using smelly things, Lego, plushy toys, and other interactable items.  

Personally, I enjoy going to comedy-related events with my friends both during the Fringe and outside of it. I also have a big interest in history so I normally listen to some kind of podcast about that, attend some of the lectures hosted by the university, or visit various museums.  

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

NICK TURTON

Clinical Skills Centre Manager
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Nottingham

• Present: Clinical Skills Centre Manager, University of Nottingham
• 2020: Teaching Technical Manager (Life Sciences), University of Nottingham
• 2018: Teaching Technical Manager (Pharmacy), University of Nottingham
• 2016: Senior Technician (Microbiology), Nottingham Trent University
• 2012: Senior Technician (Biochemistry), Nottingham Trent University
• 2008: Microbiologist, Northern Foods
• 2006: BSc, Sheffield Hallam University

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

I wouldn’t say that becoming a technician was always my dream, I never really knew what I wanted to be when I was younger. The only real exposure to technicians at school was seeing someone in a white lab coat disappear off into a small prep room when the class was starting. I always had an interest in science, in particular doing the experiments, and that interest led me to university and subsequently a couple of lab-based jobs in industry testing food for microbial content and running an experiment called an ELISA which tested blood samples for different viruses.

In both of those jobs the main focus was being in the lab, setting up and running the experiments and then providing the results for the client; in a lot of ways, without even realising it I was doing a technical role.

My first technical role within a university was at Nottingham Trent working in Biochemistry setting up teaching practical classes for Undergraduate students. Initially it was a little daunting, thinking that if I made a mistake 30 students would have no results and it was all down to me but after a while, I became confident in what I was doing. I loved the variation that I could get involved with at the University, where once I was doing an ELISA day after day, now I could be growing cells for a tissue culture class, working with viruses, freeze drying samples or developing new practical classes. I even got involved in some Sports Science studies. From that point onwards I knew that a technical career in higher education was for me.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

My current role title is Clinical Skills Centre Manager which basically means that I manage a team who deliver Clinical Skills practical classes for Nurses, Medics, Physio’s and Midwives. I am also in charge of the facility where the classes are undertaken and so a lot of my role is making sure that the building and equipment are safe to use and that our teaching is provided in a safe way. In a number of ways, it’s quite a departure from my first role at NTU, I don’t set the classes up myself anymore and obviously our teaching is clinical based and not particularly centred around science. There are however lots of similarities in technical roles regardless of the discipline and so in my case, there is a need to organise and manage the team to ensure that our practical classes are delivered, Health and Safety principles still apply even if some of the hazards are different and things like securing funding for new equipment are the same discussions regardless of what equipment you want
to purchase.

To get into this managerial position I’ve worked my way up through numerous team leader/managerial roles both at NTU and now at the University of Nottingham. From my own point of view I think I’ve always had success in managerial positions and although I do miss being in a lab or setting up classes my skills are better suited to where I am now.

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

I’m not sure I could attribute any one thing or even a group of activities that have helped in my career. I think the main thing that I’ve always tried to do is get involved in whatever has been put in front of me. Certainly, when working at both universities there are always little projects or opportunities that come along and you have two options; you can say that it’s not really part of your job, or you can get involved and make it your own. I’ve always done the latter and I think it’s the single thing that has benefitted me the most. I once went on a training course which wasn’t essential for my development but just that I thought it might be interesting and I ended up getting a meeting with the Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University from it. I also took over the organisation of a group of volunteers that supported practical classes when I worked in Pharmacy, due to the person doing that role leaving, and that work ended up becoming relevant to the role that I now have and was something I could discuss in my interview for the position.

You never know what opportunities will come from getting involved in mini projects but if you turn them down because they might be some extra work then you will never even be aware of the benefit. I think the quote is something like “Say yes and then figure out how to do it later” that’s certainly something that I’ve always tried to follow and I think that attitude will always serve you well. 

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

When working in the lab I was part of a fantastic group of people who set up a brand new Teaching Lab at Nottingham Trent. I got given a fairly significant budget and was told to source and purchase the appropriate equipment which sounds great until you realise you have such a small amount of time to do it in. We set up new processes for delivering the practical classes and new ways of working for existing technical teams and so bringing all of that together successfully was very satisfying.

From a managerial point of view I’d say the work I did in securing additional funding for staff in a previous role was a highlight. The work I did looked at how three teaching technical teams worked and what they needed to deliver the practical classes required of them. I managed to get the school to agree to a number of additional Teaching Technician posts which reduced everyone’s workloads and made things more manageable. I had to present the case to the school board and so getting agreement to that was something that I was very proud of.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

I’ve moved around in roles quite a bit and so at the moment I am happy in what I am doing. I think in the past 10 years I’ve been driven by wanting to progress and move into more senior roles. I feel I have the right work/life balance at the moment and want to stay in a position where I can develop the plans I have over a number of years. I think there is great potential for developing what my department currently deliver and so I want to move ahead with these plans and see them through to a conclusion.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

As I said earlier over the past 10 years I’ve been quite driven in wanting to move into more senior positions and that has at times lead me to apply for roles that I wasn’t particularly suited for. I applied for a Research Team leader and a Radiation Protection Officer role whilst I was at Nottingham Trent, neither of which I got. Looking back those roles weren’t particularly suited to my skills and yet I struggled with the disappointment of not getting the positions.

If I could give myself some advice it would be that the right role will come along at some point that suits the level that you want to work at and will match your skills but that you have to give it time. Try and think clearly about what it is that you really want to do and then match the training you can do in your role with that position.

I had a little experience in Radiation Safety and no experience in Research Technical work and so really, I wasn’t suited to those positions at all. My experience is centred around Teaching and so progressing down that avenue has been where I’ve found the most success.

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

DR MICHAEL GARLE

Senior Technician School of Life Sciences University of Nottingham

• 2003-Present: Technician, University of Nottingham School of Biomedical Sciences/School of Life Sciences
• 2001-2003: Research assistant/Post doc, University of Nottingham School of Medicine (Gastroenterology)
• 1999-2001: Research assistant/Post doc, University of Nottingham School of Biomedical Sciences
• 1992-1999: Research assistant/Post doc,University of Nottingham (Department of Human Morphology:- Merged to School of Biomedical Sciences)
• 1989-1992: Research assistant/Post doc, University of Nottingham (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology)
• 1985-1988: PhD in in vitro Toxicology, University of Nottingham (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology)
• 1982-1985: BSc in Pharmacology, Portsmouth Polytechnic

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

My path towards being a technician started from my postgraduate days whilst completing my PhD. In many ways, my early skill set was pointing towards a technical destination rather than an academic profession. As an illustration of this, it was clear that I loved designing and doing experiments. I quickly took on a role where “looked after the lab” and took a strong interest in health and safety (my subject area of in vitro toxicology was a good starting point for a safety speciality). Finally, I loved assisting students (both undergraduate and postgraduate). On the negative side my writing skills were laboured. Bluntly I’d much rather do the experiments in preference to writing them up.

One of my papers took 5 years to complete! In an atmosphere of “publish or perish”, the research-led academic career was never going to be suited to me. After my PhD, I followed a number of research assistant roles all being on defined-term contracts. As time moved on I applied unsuccessfully for a number of teaching –focussed academic and research assistant posts. However:- I looked on jealously at technical colleagues who had permanent positions with ample time to pursue research interests. Technical posts were rarely advertised, but when they did appear they seemed to represent “a perfect job”.

My initial inquiries about following a technical path seemed un-promising. In the mid 1990’s when I speculated to a one senior colleague that a technical role would suite me he commented “I think you can do better than that”! This was a reflection of a widespread view of how technicians have been regarded in the past.

My big break came in late 2003 when 2 posts were advertised, one was a close equivalent of TS4 whilst the other was approximately TS3. My supervisor at the time was aware on my future intentions (and supportive of my desired career destination), however he was concerned that the transition from post-doctoral research position to a technical role might be viewed negatively. In response to this I applied initially for the higher grade post, despite the fact that more junior role was closer to my past speciality. I consulted with the academic about the role but unfortunately I encountered a similar attitude to my experience in the 1990’s. The response was, why do you want this, you will spend all your time cleaning up after people. The academic gave a strong indication that I would not be called for interview.

At this point, I was furious (as I felt that the response was somewhat insulting to our existing cohort of technicians), as I marched back to my lab I happened to come across the academic who was the contact person for the other (more junior) position. I suggested flippantly to this other academic that he would bin my application if I were to apply. His response was an extremely pleasant surprise (almost shock). He commented:- No, I will not bin your application, I would view your application very positively! At this point my mood changed abruptly as I convinced myself that “I got this job”, despite not having put an application in yet!

I was invited to be interviewed and the late Roger Dainty was chair of the interview panel. I was almost flummoxed by the first question that was along the lines of:- “how do you propose to keep 6 academics in order”! HR guidance on the conduct of interviews was much less prescriptive in those days. In any event I managed to respond to the questions posed. I remember the other academic smiled broadly (as if all his Christmas’s had come at once), when I expressed my keen interest to be involved in undergraduate research projects. In any event I was appointed to the post, few people could have been quite so happy as to get a 1/3rd salary reduction. Two short gaps in my employment taught me the value of stable employment.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

At interview It was made clear to me that the job had limited scope for progression. However this tuned out not to be the case. Our technical manager at the time (Mandy Losinski) needed a technician to join a technical development group, this was a group focussed on developing technical skills within the technical community. Mandy soon delegated responsibility, so I came to lead the committee alongside organising technical away days and other ad-hoc training events for technical staff. In parallel with these training activities, I took on radiation protection supervisor responsibilities. In this regard, I was heavily influenced by the Sue Willington who was the technical support for my last research assistant position. My training and RPS activities complemented my laboratory role in supporting undergraduate and postgraduate students to enable me to move from a middle technical to a senior technical position. Apart from these activities, I found that my academic lab colleagues gave me considerable experimental freedom to explore research of mutual interest. This culminated in much research on the actions of hydrogen sulphide; this was unfortunate for the assault on the olfactory senses of anybody brave enough to enter our lab.

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

In no particular order the activities that have helped me progress in my career are as follows:

1. A strong interest in health and safety matters (these roles tend not to be popular).
2. A desire to “teach and pass on skills” in all contexts,this may be through assisting students, academics or technical colleagues. In this regard, the ability of technical staff to gain basic teaching qualifications (AFHEA as an example) is a big change for the better.
3. Belonging to a research group that has shared interests to my own, listens to my contribution and allows me to lead on activities from time to time. In this regards I been especially lucky.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

1. Persuading my academic group that hydrogen sulphide is a great molecule to work on (despite the horrible smell).
2. Gaining a commendation for my dissertation with my ATP-course and AFHEA qualification.
3. Managing to lead our school(in collaboration with the safety office) through three Environment Agency inspections of our radiation activities and leading our school on radioprotection.
4. Supporting numerous undergraduate and postgraduate students in completion of degrees and higher degree’s noting that my academics trust me enough to offer guidance on scientific matters.
5. Visiting colleagues UNMC in Malaysia to successfully develop some undergraduate practical classes, and using my Imodium tablets in the development of the same practical.
6. (ongoing but will be a highlight of the future). Developing some novel hypothesis related to sepsis and other chronic inflammatory conditions in collaboration with my own group and a colleague based at Sutton Bonington.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

1. To finally get round to sorting my professional registration with the Institute of Science and Technology.
2. In future, I wish to focus more on developing practical classes for the newly established Pharmacology degree and developing some novel concepts outlined in 6 above.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

1. Health and safety is to be enthusiastically embraced, not just treated as a chore.
2. All learning experiences are valuable, be prepared to take an interest in area’s outside of your normal area you never know when a new opportunity will arise.
3. View training activities as a networking opportunity.

As part of the Research Software Camps: Digital Skills for Research Technical Staff, we are reposting a series of case studies developed and originally published by MI TALENT. This series aims to highlight the many paths that may lead towards a technical career.

DENISE MCLEAN

Senior Research Technician Advanced Microscopy Unit University of Nottingham

• 2021-Present: Chair for EDI at MI
• 2020-Present: University of Nottingham Executive Board - subcommittee for EDI
• 2020-Present: Specialist Advisor for EDI at the NTDC
• 2018-Present: Committee Board for the Women’s Staff Network, University of Nottingham
• 2016-Present: Senior Research Technician, NMRC, University of Nottingham
• 2001-Present: Senior Research Technician, AMU, University of Nottingham
• 1991-2001: Research Technician, University of Nottingham
• 1998-1999: Research Technician, University of Nottingham
• 1997-1998: Research Technician, Department of Health
• 1992-1997: Trainee MLSO, Histopathology
• 1990-1992: Laboratory Technician Pharmacy, QMC

WHAT LED YOU TO BECOME A TECHNICIAN? 

I did not set out with the intention of carving out a career in the technical field. The job opportunities, security and satisfaction are reasons why I stayed.

HOW HAS YOUR CAREER PROGRESSED (WHERE ARE YOU NOW)? 

I trained in the NHS as a trainee technician and gained valuable technical skills in Histological techniques. I then transitioned to working for Department of Health, working on a neurological study for a year.

I soon realised that I was not enjoying the repetitive nature of the job, so decided to learn a different area of science, Molecular Biology at the University of Nottingham. This position was a fixed term contract, which provided no job security, so after a year, I seized the opportunity of securing a permanent job in the Medical School in the School of Biomedical Sciences (now known as School of Life Sciences).

Over the last 20 years, I have worked in research groups and gained extensive knowledge in new techniques, before going back to my first love... Electron Microscopy and Histology.
I am now an expert in these fields and have worked my way up to Senior Research Technician.

WHAT WERE THE MOST USEFUL ACTIVITIES THAT HELPED YOU PROGRESS IN YOUR CAREER? 

I have worked in the Medical School for over 20 years, and it would be easy to sit comfortably and just carry out my duties. This however is not my story, as I love to embrace new opportunities in areas of interest to me. The emergence of the Technician Commitment has been instrumental in improving my career development and growth.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS AND WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? 

I am conscious that my positive mentality and carpe diem attitude has led to great opportunities. Below is a list of some of them.

• Awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Medal for community engagement and an ambassador in science.
• Completed the Associate Teacher’s Program.
• Achieved the Registered Scientist certification for successfully evidencing competences in my areas of expertise.
• Wrote an article on Equality and Diversity in the workplace for the Institute of Science and Technology.
• Featured in the launch Magazine - Vision for The University, highlighting the value and impact technicians have
  in research.
• I was a panellist at New Scientist Live which was held at ExCel, London. The aim was to highlight the Technicians Make it Happen campaign and five technicians from across the country, including myself, were interviewed by Professor Sir John Holman, Senior Advisor in education at the Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Foundation, founding director of the National Science Learning Centre, Chair of the Teacher Development Trust and president of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
• On the back of the success at the New Scientist Live event, I was then asked to represent the 1.5million technicians across the UK, by delivering a speech at the Tower of London. This was for the official launch of the Technician Commitment. Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Settlor for the Gatsby Foundation, Tim Bradshaw, CEO of The Russell Group Universities and myself, gave emotive speeches around the value and impact the Technician Commitment themes - (visibility, recognition, sustainability and career development) are adding to the careers of the technical pool and the momentum it is gaining at Universities and in industries around the UK.
• I was invited to support the Technician Commitment-Gatsby Foundation, at the Big Bang Fair at the NEC in Birmingham. The aim was to inspire children to consider a career in the technical field and also to highlight the number of technical roles that exist and to gain an appreciation of the skills which we demonstrate on a daily basis.
• Invited to be a speaker at the Birmingham Science Museum for an annual event called Black STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). I highlighted the Science arm and was asked to share my career path and what inspired me to work in the STEM industry. The audience were individuals and schools from the local communities and the speakers were from respective fields across the UK.
• All these achievements have helped build on my confidence and belief in my abilities. The highlight of my career to date is representing the 1.5million technicians across the UK, by delivering a speech at the Tower of London.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUTURE CAREER ASPIRATIONS AND IF SO WHAT ARE THEY? 

I sit on various groups and committees within the University and further afield. These include:

• The Women’s Staff Network
• Racial Harassment and Bullying Working Group
• Specialist Advisor for Equality Diversity and Inclusion at the National Technician Development Centre
• Sit on the University of Nottingham Executive Board - subcommittee for EDI.
• Chair for EDI at Midlands Innovation

My career aspiration is to build strong links with under-represented communities and Universities, providing awareness and opportunities for them.

WHAT CAREER ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUR YOUNGER SELF? 

I would encourage my younger self to find my passion and see what career prospects are available in my chosen field/ area of interest. I would tell myself to find opportunities/ ways to network and build strong links with individuals who work in that area and make a concerted effort to make a career plan to achieve my outcome. Be brave, focused and chase success.