Did you know that the medicines we take and the prepared foods we eat are
safe thanks to quality assurance tests done by chemical technicians?
Hindera Sinha runs tests on vaccines and pharmaceutical products. She works
as a lab technician in quality control.
Sinha started out in the accounting field. When she decided to switch
careers, she didn't have the background in chemistry that she needed to sign
up for the technician course at her local college.
"I convinced our board of education to let me attend high school chemistry
classes as a mature student," she explains.
When the semester ended, Sinha studied more chemistry at summer school.
In the fall, she began her three-year program at a community college.
Sinha's work involves testing the water that her company uses to make vaccines.
She also tests finished products and raw materials that are used in the production
of drugs. "I do test after test," she says.
Sinha works 8:30 to 4:30. Occasionally she works overtime to finish up
a test or to redo a test that didn't work right.
She says she always learns a lot when tests don't work. "I get the opportunity
to figure out why it doesn't work and modify the method," she says. "When
it works after being modified, that is very satisfying."
Sinha serves on her company's health and safety committee. She says statistics
show that a lot of newcomers to the field get injured or even killed due to
unsafe practices. Sinha joined the committee because she wanted to know how
to protect herself and her fellow workers.
"If anyone in the lab is careless, it affects me, and vice versa," she
says.
When you are dealing with gases like hydrogen, it is easy to set off an
explosion or a fire. Acids and corrosive substances are other dangers.
"We are trained to use protective equipment like masks and gloves," Sinha
says. "We have to reinforce safety all the time. It is very easy to forget."
Adam Foote is a lab technician in Phoenix. He became interested in laboratory
work as a teenager when he had a part-time job in a plating shop lab.
"After I graduated, I was hired on full time as the lab technician," he
says.
During his seven years on the job, Foote learned a lot from talking with
the chemists who were in and out of the lab. "I gained a lot of valuable hands-on
experience," says Foote. "It definitely benefited me."
Next, Foote was hired to start a chemistry lab. He analyzes samples that
customers bring in for re-certification. "I do chemical analyses on solids
and gases."
The work involves checking the salt spray chamber for salt water content
and rates of corrosion. Foote then takes drillings for filings from samples.
"Essentially, we take a solid sample and make it into a liquid," he explains.
If there are salt spray samples that need to be analyzed, Foote logs them
for dates, then does a gas analysis. He tests for carbon, sulphur, nitrogen,
oxygen and hydrogen. When that's completed, he tests samples for water content,
phosphorescence and sensitivity.
Foote finds the work to be fun. He says it's never monotonous and always
challenging. Sometimes customers do not understand the amount of time that
is needed to do a test. "They think something can be done in an hour, but
it takes all day," he laughs.
Anyone interested in a career as a chemistry technician would benefit from
lab time at school, says Foote. Lab time gives you valuable hands-on
experience. "I see that as a big problem today," he says. "A lot of people
are book trained but do not have hands-on experience."
Kelly Parks works as a chemical technician in quality control. She helps
run tests that determine whether a food is up to standard.
Parks started out by getting a bachelor's degree in psychology. She says
she had enjoyed the lab work while studying psychology. "So I decided to stick
with lab work," she says. "I went back to a community college and got a chemical
technologist diploma."
Parks works shift work and the occasional Saturday. She likes the hands-on
experiments and having to deal with different problems. "I enjoy having to
come up with solutions to the problem," she says.
Parks runs tests on a variety of food products such as gravies, bullions,
bakery flakes and oils. She tests for moisture, fatty acids, viscosity, salts,
crystal strength and pH.
"We also test our raw materials," she says. "We make sure the shipment
that has come in compares to previous shipments. We also do microbiology testing
on all raw staples."
Parks explains that university is not the only option to work as a chemical
technician. A college diploma is a great alternative, she says.