Badly Need Lab Experience

Thargor

Hi, I have 2 degrees, biotech and a biopharma one I did because of the sh1t job situation when I graduated after the first degree. I have a job in a biotech company in Ireland but its office work bordering on data entry although the money is good.

On the rare, rare occasion I get an interview the lack of lab experience kills me even when I can answer any technical stuff they ask.

How the hell are you supposed to get lab experience? Quit a good job and sit on the dole until you can do a Jobsbridge? Emails to every company and science recruiter I can think of arent doing anything for me either.

I really need advice on this as my ultimate goal is to live in other countries for a year or two at a time but not washing dishes, I want proper career building lab work to put on my CV afterwards, Im totally stuck in a rut because of this and I know Im better off than most but its seriously depressing me, been doing this current role for nearly 4 years now and it is as dead end as it gets.

Any help appreciated thanks.

Tarzana

Thargor wrote: »

Hi, I have 2 degrees, biotech and a biopharma one I did because of the sh1t job situation when I graduated after the first degree. I have a job in a biotech company in Ireland but its office work bordering on data entry although the money is good.

On the rare, rare occasion I get an interview the lack of lab experience kills me even when I can answer any technical stuff they ask.

How the hell are you supposed to get lab experience? Quit a good job and sit on the dole until you can do a Jobsbridge? Emails to every company and science recruiter I can think of arent doing anything for me either.

I really need advice on this as my ultimate goal is to live in other countries for a year or two at a time but not washing dishes, I want proper career building lab work to put on my CV afterwards, Im totally stuck in a rut because of this and I know Im better off than most but its seriously depressing me, been doing this current role for nearly 4 years now and it is as dead end as it gets.

Any help appreciated thanks.

Get out of the country. Seriously. Science is a very difficult area to get your start in right now.

I graduated in a biology discipline in 2009. I knew not to even bother trying to find a job in Ireland and focused my sights on the UK. Got a job at a UK government public health agency. Had zilch experince. Once you get some experience, there will be more opportunities available to you in Ireland should you wish to return. And don't poo poo data entry experience, it's a great thing to have. One thing, starting the UK, salary will be pretty low if you live outside London.

Best of luck!

PS. I found the ad for the job I got in the UK on the New Scientist careers webpage. Look it up, it's a great little resource.

Sugar Free

Just out of interest, is a lab career what you really want?

Thargor

Well yeah I have science degrees, nothing really interests me enough to bother starting over again...

Thanks for that Tarzana, did you move over there first or get hired from Ireland?

Tarzana

Thargor wrote: »

Well yeah I have science degrees, nothing really interests me enough to bother starting over again...

Thanks for that Tarzana, did you move over there first or get hired from Ireland?

Got hired from Ireland. Went over and back for interview in the same day, got offered the job the next day.

ancapailldorcha

Hi OP,

3 years ago, I had a degree, an MSc and no chance whatsoever of getting a job in Ireland. I'd strongly implore you to consider emigrating as has been suggested. I know of a decent recruitment agency you could register with in Sussex if that'd help? I got my first job here through an agency. It was a permanent job with a company in Oxford.
As far as gaining experience goes, you could contact researchers whose work interests you and offer to volunteer with them. There's someone in my lab 2 days a week doing just that.
In terms of applying for jobs, I list the bullet points from the job description and under each detail how I meet (or exceed) that specific requirement.

Thargor

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Hi OP,

3 years ago, I had a degree, an MSc and no chance whatsoever of getting a job in Ireland. I'd strongly implore you to consider emigrating as has been suggested. I know of a decent recruitment agency you could register with in Sussex if that'd help? I got my first job here through an agency. It was a permanent job with a company in Oxford.
As far as gaining experience goes, you could contact researchers whose work interests you and offer to volunteer with them. There's someone in my lab 2 days a week doing just that.
In terms of applying for jobs, I list the bullet points from the job description and under each detail how I meet (or exceed) that specific requirement.

Thanks a million for the advice and please send on the recruitment agency if you get a chance, looks like I might just have to go to the UK.

How low are the wages starting off in peoples experience? Id be hoping for something better than lab tech, maybe associate scientist or something like that...

ancapailldorcha

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks a million for the advice and please send on the recruitment agency if you get a chance, looks like I might just have to go to the UK.

How low are the wages starting off in peoples experience? Id be hoping for something better than lab tech, maybe associate scientist or something like that...

Here we go: http://www.sls-services.co.uk/

I'd say take what you can get now. Salary varies from employer to employer. If you've only a small amount of lab experience or even none, I'd advise you to aim for Laboratory Technician roles. In the UK they involve a lot more than just lab maintenance but again, this can vary. I'm a Research Technician and I'm essentially doing a Research Scientist's job at the moment.

Thargor

Brilliant thanks Im already with them, they got me an interview in Athlone and cork then didnt hear from them again, Ill send them an updated CV and ask them for UK roles, thanks a million.

Tarzana

Yeah, Thargor, lab tech roles can be fantastic for picking up experience in many different techniques, as the role can be quite varied. Not a bad place to start at all.

ancapailldorcha

I strongly recommend:

www.jobs.ac.uk (Best for University posts but some companies use it as well)
www.jobs.nhs.uk (If you have a degree in Biomedical Science)
www.newscientistjobs.com

Also worth a look:

www.indeed.co.uk
www.jobs.co.uk
www.totaljobs.com (Infested with recruitment agencies)
www.jobsite.co.uk
www.reed.co.uk
www.fish4.co.uk
www.monster.co.uk

Tarzana

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I strongly recommend:

Great list, except avoid totaljobs. Spammy as hell and got sent some ridiculous scam job offer emails from them. They were really obvious scams but just annoying more than anything.

ancapailldorcha

Tarzana wrote: »

Great list, except avoid totaljobs. Spammy as hell and got sent some ridiculous scam job offer emails from them. They were really obvious scams but just annoying more than anything.

Agreed but I did mention that it was infested with recruitment agencies, a lot of whom have few scruples.

jive

Not sure why everyone is recommending you to go to the UK in this thread. Biopharma is probably one of the few areas actually doing well in this country. Keep applying and you will land a job. Contract labs are probably a good place to look at. It depends on what your background is but there are any amount of QC analyst roles that pop up regularly.

ancapailldorcha

jive wrote: »

Not sure why everyone is recommending you to go to the UK in this thread. Biopharma is probably one of the few areas actually doing well in this country. Keep applying and you will land a job. Contract labs are probably a good place to look at. It depends on what your background is but there are any amount of QC analyst roles that pop up regularly.

When I was looking for work after I finished my MSc, I got one interview in 8 months and it was for a job that was nearly completely unrelated to my field. I barely saw anything on the usual sites which left 2 options, either wait for a PhD to appear or emigrate.
Perhaps there are more jobs now than when I was starting out, I just don't keep an eye on such things. From the general gist of the news, boards, etc, relevant employment opportunities are few and far between and employers can ask for an almost insane amount of experience and/or qualifications.

jive

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

When I was looking for work after I finished my MSc, I got one interview in 8 months and it was for a job that was nearly completely unrelated to my field. I barely saw anything on the usual sites which left 2 options, either wait for a PhD to appear or emigrate.
Perhaps there are more jobs now than when I was starting out, I just don't keep an eye on such things. From the general gist of the news, boards, etc, relevant employment opportunities are few and far between and employers can ask for an almost insane amount of experience and/or qualifications.

I finished in 2012 and was offered 2 QC analyst roles related to my degree within a month of finishing. I don't think I am an exception to the rule either because a lot of people in my class went on to work in Dublin, Cork & Galway for some of the large pharma companies. While it's certainly not a case of just sending in a CV and getting a job the jobs are there.

Many jobs ask for 2/3 years experience or list it as an advantage. The job I got had 2+ years of experience as a requirement... I was a graduate and didn't even do a placement for my degree but got the job. You need to just keep sending out CVs, eventually you will catch a break in this industry which is fortunate because in many industries that is not the case in Ireland atm

ancapailldorcha

jive wrote: »

I finished in 2012 and was offered 2 QC analyst roles related to my degree within a month of finishing. I don't think I am an exception to the rule either because a lot of people in my class went on to work in Dublin, Cork & Galway for some of the large pharma companies. While it's certainly not a case of just sending in a CV and getting a job the jobs are there.

Many jobs ask for 2/3 years experience or list it as an advantage. The job I got had 2+ years of experience as a requirement... I was a graduate and didn't even do a placement for my degree but got the job. You need to just keep sending out CVs, eventually you will catch a break in this industry which is fortunate because in many industries that is not the case in Ireland atm

You must have been either well connected or very lucky. I'm not saying getting those offers didn't require a degree of skill or initiative on your part but some of my class had to leave the country. A few did PhDs, a few got jobs unrelated to science and a few went on to do new undergrads.
Waiting for that break can be time consuming and soul destroying. I was watching the other people in my town depart for amazing adventures in Australia, Canada and other far away lands while I worked my 6.5 hour a week shop while not even getting messages to let me know I wouldn't be considered for some of the jobs I applied for.

Tarzana

jive wrote: »

Not sure why everyone is recommending you to go to the UK in this thread. Biopharma is probably one of the few areas actually doing well in this country.

Biopharma is incredibly difficult to get in to with no experience in this country. I'm speaking from experience.

ancapailldorcha

Tarzana wrote: »

Biopharma is incredibly difficult to get in to with no experience in this country. I'm speaking from experience.

I do remember seeing a few QC roles before I left but I'd no interest in that whatsoever. I sent tons of CVs out to Wyeth, Quintiles and so on to no avail. Well, I got one interview with Quintiles performing QC on paperwork and was told by one of my colleagues in Oxford who used to work there that I'd dodged a bullet by not getting hired.

Tarzana

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I do remember seeing a few QC roles before I left but I'd no interest in that whatsoever. I sent tons of CVs out to Wyeth, Quintiles and so on to no avail. Well, I got one interview with Quintiles performing QC on paperwork and was told by one of my colleagues in Oxford who used to work there that I'd dodged a bullet by not getting hired.

Yeah, I never got any response from Wyeth, Abbott, Roche, Quintiles et al. And a family friend of mine is high up in Abbott and it was still no help at all.

ancapailldorcha

Tarzana wrote: »

Yeah, I never got any response from Wyeth, Abbott, Roche, Quintiles et al. And a family friend of mine is high up in Abbott and it was still no help at all.

There's an Abbott factory in Donegal town I applied to multiple times. My Mum worked with the wife of one of the managers and that didn't help me one jot.

jive

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

You must have been either well connected or very lucky. I'm not saying getting those offers didn't require a degree of skill or initiative on your part but some of my class had to leave the country. A few did PhDs, a few got jobs unrelated to science and a few went on to do new undergrads.
Waiting for that break can be time consuming and soul destroying. I was watching the other people in my town depart for amazing adventures in Australia, Canada and other far away lands while I worked my 6.5 hour a week shop while not even getting messages to let me know I wouldn't be considered for some of the jobs I applied for.

Nah I've no connections in industry (well I do now obviously but when I started I didn't know anyone). I'd accept that I had gotten lucky but those from my class who didn't do further education and who wanted to work in the area all got jobs (most of which in contract labs / multinationals such as Pfizer).

Tarzana wrote: »

Biopharma is incredibly difficult to get in to with no experience in this country. I'm speaking from experience.

It's really not. If you're looking for a role in a company solely working in biologicals then sure it might be difficult because many are only starting up and there aren't that many in the country at present. If we're looking at pharma on the whole then it really isn't difficult to get into. There are plenty analyst jobs going in places like Athlone, Longford, Dungarvan, Sligo etc. where nobody really wants to move to (no offence to anyone living in those places!).

Thargor

It is hard Jive, sorry but I think you got lucky or had a specific quality qualification, myself and a lot of people I graduated with are applying non stop all over, definitely not ruling out Mayo and the rest and its just not happening, experience is king.