Science technician

[leprechaaun]

I have recently been employed as a science technician since I finished sixth form. I know very little, such as making up solutions and gases, and knowing what most of the equipment is that the teachers want!

 

I dont like feeling hopeless in a job, and I have a lot of fun when I actually find something I can do! The other science technician isnt much good at teaching me all this stuff and I dont think he should be expected to, so I dont want to be having to tell other staff members that I need help!

 

Does anyone have any knowledge in this proffession that they are able to teach me anything or give me any advice?

 

Thanks!!!

[hypervalent_iodine]

I have recently been employed as a science technician since I finished sixth form. I know very little, such as making up solutions and gases, and knowing what most of the equipment is that the teachers want!

 

I dont like feeling hopeless in a job, and I have a lot of fun when I actually find something I can do! The other science technician isnt much good at teaching me all this stuff and I dont think he should be expected to, so I dont want to be having to tell other staff members that I need help!

 

Does anyone have any knowledge in this proffession that they are able to teach me anything or give me any advice?

 

Thanks!!!

 

 

Do you have a basic knowledge of chemistry at all? Are you familiar, for instance, with the concept of moles and molarity, etc? If not, I would strongly recommend getting a high school chemistry text and reading through some of the chapters on moles and concentration. You might also want to look at this. It's part of the MIT open courseware suite and I think would be extremely helpful for someone new to practical chemistry. You probably won't need to know all of it, but that very much depends on where you are working (I assume a high school since I would very much doubt any university would employ a scientific officer without significantly more experience and knowledge).

 

As for the glassware, a lot of them have names that make it fairly obvious to tell what they might be and others are ones that most people would be familiar with. For your purposes, what you might like to do is to look up the equipment you have (this will help you in identifying them), and print out the pictures with their names so you have something to refer to when people ask you for glassware. Some items will have more than one name, so be sure to look for that.

[CharonY]

Also good books on lab protocols are a good investment (also, if you do instrumental work, the manuals are often useful). I would also suggest to ask as much as possible. People generally prefer to answer questions (even if reluctantly) rather then to deal with fallout when someone messes something up.

[EdEarl]

There are online lessons, too. E.G., https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry

[Ophiolite]

so I dont want to be having to tell other staff members that I need help!

I think this may be a mistake. Would a teacher rather be given the wrong equipment, or chemicals, or asked politely for some guidance. Some teachers will be more amenable to helping than others, so use common sense on whom you approach. Tell them you are keen to do a good job, but that you currently lack some of the knowledge. Ask for their help. I think it will be forthcoming.