Hi! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Alexis Nast and I’m about to begin my last semester at Scripps. I’ll be graduating in December with a degree in neuroscience, and I’m hoping to have a job lined up by the time I return home to Seattle. I’ve been emailing professors at a local university in the hopes of finding a job as a lab technician for the next two years.
The first email I sent was a bit of a disappointment; the professor I contacted was on sabbatical and did not know of any available positions. However, he suggested another professor I could contact, who responded to my inquiry 15 minutes later saying he might have a position opening up late this fall or early winter, and I now have an appointment to talk to him about working in the lab set up for tomorrow afternoon. I did not expect a positive response so quickly, especially after hearing about the perils of the current job market.
Brainstorming a list of questions I had for him was challenging. I wanted to ask about hours, responsibilities, techniques, and opportunity for independent work, but since it wasn’t a formal interview and I by no means have the job I didn’t want to seem too pushy. I managed to get a lot of information by asking about what the current lab tech’s daily work looks like. Apparently she has stayed at the job for a long time (much longer than average lab techs stay), which suggests to me that the working environment is very positive.
Overall, the lab seemed like a good match for me; I would be able to use skills I’ve acquired at Scripps to contribute to the lab, and would also have plenty of opportunities to learn new techniques and gain experience.