Working in a professional lab for the first time might be a surprising experience compared to what you thought it would be. This blog offers advice to students who are going to embark on their first journey into lab work via work placements, graduate entry positions, or via temp summer/gap year work.

What is most surprising about working in a professional lab?

Queen’s Medicinal Chemistry Graduate, Jac, managed to secure an apprenticeship position in England with one of the big Pharmaceutical companies before undertaking his degree. I asked him what surprised him most about the working environment of a professional lab: “I was most surprised by the importance of precision that is required. Though this may seem obvious, you have to be far more specific than when working in labs in school. The tiniest mistake may seem negligible but you will soon be shocked to see how much of a detrimental effect it can have on the final product that you are synthesising.”

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Answering the same question, I can say what I noticed from both of my Microbiology temporary contract jobs was that, there are no second chances. You will be on a trial period in any job, temp or permanent, so you will be under pressure to perform tasks to a professional level within a certain time frame. Sadly if you can’t perform to the required level you will be let go, or at best case, moved elsewhere (if the organisation is big enough). The real world is a much harsher place than university, so be prepared for pressure!

Dylan, a Queen’s Chemistry Undergrad, who is returning to his final year from a work placement, said the most surprising thing to him was “how accurate you have to be...undergrad uni labs are a bit more lax. Also industry labs have different expectations from you, you will need to build your confidence - asking questions goes a long way to help with that.”

A Queen’s graduate, who undertook a 6 week placement in an NHS histopathology lab as part of her Biomedical degree said, “the thing that surprised me most is how often the bulk of lab staff are not science background people, they come from all sort of backgrounds like English or History, especially in hospital labs, most lab assistants are working it as a job as opposed to a career they’ve consistently been in.”

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Top tips from Chemistry students!

I also asked, "What top tips would you give to a Queen’s Student starting their first lab position?"

Jac: “Make sure you have some glove-free time when you can! It may sound disgusting, but your hands will be sweating if you keep your safety/latex gloves on all day!”

Dylan: “Ask for help if you are unsure of anything. Especially if it is a new process that you aren’t familiar with.”

Bio Med Graduate: “Labs are not formal places, wear clothes you don’t mind getting very strange stains on, for instance every pair of shoes I own has wax on them!”

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Finally, my own advice: Invest in really comfy smart shoes as you can be on your feet all day, or at least a significant portion of the day; and keep good fitness levels in general, stamina is needed to complete repetitive tasks day in day out.

I hope this article helps you on your laboratory journey, and many thanks to my interview subjects for the time they took to answer the questions, you’re all awesome!

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Caroline Chemistry | Undergraduate Student | NI Hi, I’m Caroline, a 3rd year Chemistry student. I’m a Mom to a 17 year old, and am in my 40s so I fall firmly into the mature student category. I’m a bit of a nerd, I enjoy new challenges (hence this blog), and I’ve really enjoyed getting stuck into both my degree and as much of the extra bits of student life at Queen’s as my time has allowed for. I’m Treasurer for the Mature Student Society this coming year and am looking forward to doing a few more social outings with them - in particular the games night, I love a good table top game!