I've a knew job in a cheese factory that I will be starting in less than two weeks. It's been 3 years since I graduated so I'm a little rusty. All I know so far is that it involves PCR. I'm not exactly sure what this job entails other then that, and to make matters worse there was no job spec for this role. The company is currently contracting out their PCR work, but they said they are having problems with this company, and want to start doing themselves. They've told me they're buying a new 'Bio-Rad' PCR machine and that they will be bringing in a BioRad representative to train me (and presumably other staff too). I don't really know what I'll actually be sequencing when using PCR. I've a feeling it's to do with sequencing the bacteria found in contaminated cheese vats?Anyway, I seem to have managed to get through the interview, but I'm a bit worried that I'll be in over my dept. You know the way it's possible to get through bioscience degree without properly understanding PCR on doing much of it? Well that's me! Don't get me wrong, I also tried to understand thing... I'd just get confused about it all. So what might be the best way for me to prepare for this job?Although I'm often very eager to be able to conceptualise what's going on at a molecular level, for the immediate future this might take too much of my time. At the end of the day, many people get through these molecular biology assays in a rote manner without thinking about what they're really doing. So with that in mind what are the basic things that I need to do (read up on) to prepare for this job? Can someone guide me towards good online PCR tutorials? Does anyone know what the role of a molecular biologist in a cheese factory would typically would be?And what sort of questions should I ask my future boss as I email her during the week or two I have to prepare? I want to find out as much as I can, but yet without asking anything that will sound stupid!
Thank you, and I'm sure I'll be chatting with some of you on the forum
