As a fresh-faced 21 yr old, I did a one-year placement at a pharmaceutical company as a synthetic chemist – a position that involves a lot of what is remarkably like cooking but with ‘reagents’ (fancy word for chemicals) instead of ingredients, making potential drugs instead of cakes. I loved the placement, I loved the work and I loved the people so I set about on the pathway to getting back in to the industry. It’s eight years on, I have the qualifications to do the role, I’m applying for jobs and I’m starting to wonder ‘Is this what I want to do? and 'Can I use all the skills I've learnt elsewhere?’

This blog is going to cover my research into what scientists like me are qualified to do that’s not in the laboratory. I’ll do my best to reference websites and people that actually do these jobs and hopefully I can help some people out by sharing what I’m learning. It’ll probably be interspersed with anecdotes and rants from the lab so you can see why I'm leaving this ‘unique’ environment! If you read this, think it’s useful/funny/worth reading, pass on the link – I’d love to know if I’m any good at this writing lark.

Monday 25 November 2013

It's not just scientists who use 'jargon'

How often do you hear...

I'm in e-commerce...
I'm a web professional...
I work in emerging markets...
I'm in tax...
I'm in IT (urgh)

How are any of the above statements any more explanatory than:

'I'm a microbiologist' or 'I'm a solid-state chemist?'

As I've been looking at new careers, I've started to ask anyone (and everyone) what they do. They inevitably patter out three or four sentences that mean nothing unless you're already in their field. Then I ask them 'Ok, thanks, but what do you actually DO?' They ummm and aah, come out with a version of 'Well, it's difficult to explain...' or 'It's a really diverse role...' and then think I'm being a bit weird for asking again 'Sorry, I don't understand, what is it you DO?'

What I'd really like to hear is what people actually do with their day. Scientists are often told that we need to explain what we do and I do always try. For example, when people ask what I do, after telling them that I'm a research chemist (and then telling them that it's not the same as a pharmacist), I almost always tell them that what I do is very similar to cooking but instead of mixing food and producing a cake/lasagne/burnt useless blob, I mix 'chemicals' to produce bigger chemicals/a drug/the occasional burnt useless blob. However, I think most people are guilty of slipping into jargon rather than really explaining something, particularly (and frustratingly, for me) when it comes to their job.

I've just got back from a(nother) careers fair and left early. It was heavily populated with super keen undergraduates (so young!!!), edgy Novartis employees (for now) and me. Oh, yeah and that guy who won the Apprentice, you know, the other 'Ricky Martin'. He genuinely had a copy of Alan Sugar's novel as a prize if you submitted your details to his recruitment agency - you can see why he won with such high-end incentive schemes. Although to be fair, you could hand out barb-wire toothbrushes at these fairs and people would love it. You can see a selection of my swag below - yes, that is a stress ball shaped like an aeroplane. Natch. 


Whilst everyone there was very enthusiastic and very friendly, I'm not sure what I got out of it. I approached several stands to ask about what positions they had for more people-facing scientists, i.e. a job where I could talk to people. The exhibitors went on to describe jobs that they know aren't in the lab like 'Regulatory affairs', 'Supply chain manager' and 'Qualification technologist' (No clue). So when I asked, 'That's great' what do those people DO all day', I just got an awkward response and a 'Oh, that's not something I deal with, have you seen the website?' 

I completely appreciate that it's not their responsibility to coach me through this early mid-life crisis, but apart from titles, it would be really useful if people could start talking to job-seekers about their jobs in terms the 'uninitiated' could understand and not assume that the listener has prior knowledge - much like scientists are constantly encouraged to do. 

For example it took me four versions of the same question to get:

         'I decide what forms of media (radio/tv/print) are best to promote particular UK businesses', 

and pushed on to get:

         'I do this on the phone, by email, go and meet lots of different directors and then I tell my team what/how to broadcast/publish something in-line with what I've decided.' 

The first three attempts to get this information yielded "I work in promotion', ' I deal with UK businesses' and 'Well, it's hard to explain...'

What I'm saying is, next time someone asks you what you do, try actually telling them, who knows, they might actually be interested! There's a whole new lingo to understand when looking for a job, particularly if, like me, you might be considering an alternative career. I'm aware that job adverts aren't designed to cater for all and have their own agendas, but, when discussing what we do, could we all try to stop speaking in job-advert-ese, please?

I still don't really understand what my brothers do all day (one regulary sends me funny pictures by text), my friends are in tax, project management and e-commerce. I have no idea what most of these things mean and I'm going to start trying to find out. By force if necessary.

In the meanwhile, I'm off to apply for 'Evaluations Manager', 'Downstream Process Development Team Leader and 'Transdermal Manager

What do you mean 'What are they?' - Don't you know?




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