What You Need to Know About Working in a Lab

So, you’re thinking about taking up a career in the lab. It can be an interesting and rewarding career with new challenges coming your way each day. But there are some things you need to know first.

There is a Hierarchy to Navigate
When you start at the bottom as a lab technician, you don’t’ want to get ahead of yourself. No one likes the guy who comes in and acts like he rules the roost. You need to be careful not to step on people’s toes and annoy people who have been working there for longer. There is usually a pretty strictly regulated hierarchy in place in most laboratory workplaces. You need to understand how this works so that you can fit in. And, to begin with, you’ll have to accept that the higher ranking staff get most of the credit for good work.

Equipment is Delicate
The equipment that you will use and handle each day when working in a lab is very delicate. If you’re not careful, this equipment can be damaged and broken. And guess will be picking up the tab for that broken equipment. Many employers make it very clear that expensive equipment that gets broken has to be replaced. There is usually insurance on the really expensive stuff. But you might still be asked to pay a contribution to cover the excess on the insurance claim. So, being careful is key.

Experiments Can be Frustrating
Conducting experiments and tests tends to be what is done in a lab environment. This is the bread and butter work that is done each day. And to do it well and successfully, you have to be able to deal with the frustration that comes with this kind of territory. The reason why it can get frustrating is that there is a lot of repetition. When you do an experiment, and you don’t get the desired result, you have to keep repeating it until you find out what the problem is. This can eventually get tiring and frustrating.

Healthy and Safety is Key
It’s pretty obvious that there are lots of risks that need to be considered in the workplace. There are lots of systems, checks and measures that are put in place to make sure that things remain safe and secure. A LIMS system is found in many laboratory workplaces. These help to make sure that the working processes in labs are efficient and safe at the same time. And all lab employees need to play their part in keeping labs safe when working in them each day.

Your Hours Can be Long
The hours can be pretty long when you work in a laboratory. And you don’t realise how tiring it can be working in this kind of environment until you’ve actually tried out in practice. There are so many things that need to be checked before the real work can even be got down to. If you can’t handle the heat and pressure of this kind of work, a career working in a lab might not be for you. The long hours are necessary to climb the career ladder in this kind of working environment too.

Photo by Matej Kastelic | Shutterstock