Amber works in the biotech industry at ICON. She went to a community college biotech program and started working as a technician in Los Angeles. In this episode, hear how technicians save lives by fighting breast cancer. Amber started as a technician and her career shows how far technicians can go.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
Links from the show:
Amber works in the biotech industry at ICON. She went to a community college biotech program and started working as a technician in Los Angeles. In this episode, hear how technicians save lives by fighting breast cancer. Amber started as a technician and her career shows how far technicians can go.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
Links from the show:
Peter Kazarinoff 0:02
From MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, this is Talking Technicians. The podcast about technicians: who they are, what they do, and where they come from. I'm your host, Peter Kazarinoff. I teach technicians and engineers that Portland Community College. In each episode, you'll meet a working technician and hear their story. That means real interviews, with real technicians, about real jobs. At the end of each episode, you'll hear actions you can take if you want to be a technician too.
In this episode, you'll meet Amber. Amber works at icon and is based in Los Angeles, California. Amber, welcome to Talking technicians.
Amber 0:51
Thank you, Peter. I'm glad to be here.
Peter Kazarinoff 0:54
So Amber, you're based in Los Angeles? How long? Have you been there for?
Amber 0:58
About four years
Peter Kazarinoff 1:01
And where were you before Los Angeles?
Amber 1:03
I was on the East Coast. That's where I spent most of my time, but most of my family lives here on the west coast. So when I decided to do a career change, I decided to move west.
Peter Kazarinoff 1:16
And did you grow up in the Los Angeles area?
Amber 1:19
Actually the Phoenix area in Phoenix. Yeah.
Peter Kazarinoff 1:23
And is there anyone else in your household right now?
Amber 1:26
Nope, just me right now.
Peter Kazarinoff 1:28
And is there anything about Los Angeles, that brought you there and that you feel like people should know about?
Amber 1:35
Um, well, it's a great place, you can go skiing surfing, so all sorts of seasons, not too far away. So that's good. A lot of people like that. And also, I was interested in the sort of biotech world, and most people think of Northern California. Like, we're up where Apple is, or they think down in San Diego, but actually, Los Angeles has a very growing area. So there's a lot of opportunity to plug into the biotech world.
Peter Kazarinoff 2:13
And Amber, when you mentioned biotech, what do you mean by that? What are some of the things that biotech can do and help people with?
Amber 2:20
So biotechnology is sort of a large umbrella for a lot of different things that can fall under sort of Pharma. I came here intentionally to look at stem cell research, they can also deal with agriculture. So it's, you can send you in a lot of different ways and a lot of different opportunities, whether that's in the manufacturing side or the research side. So it's a old, but new sort of area that a lot of people seem to be getting into right now.
Peter Kazarinoff 3:00
Amber, you mentioned that you were drawn to stem cell research. What's your current job title on what do you do day to day at work right now?
Amber 3:09
Um, I was drawn to stem cell research, mainly because I hadn't heard much about them other than basic biology years and years ago. So but you were going to get a chance to get hands on experience with cells. And I just thought that sounded really interesting. So when I moved here, I moved to join a program at Pasadena City College that offered a certificate in lab skills, and working with mouse stem cells. And just an opportunity to enter a new career without having to go through the whole four year path. And I thought that was a really great idea. Currently, that is not my job. But I'm just transitioned to a new job at icon where I'm a clinical research associate. But that's only been about four months before that I was a research lab technician at University of Southern California. So that's where I got a chance to put my stem cell techniques to the test.
Peter Kazarinoff 4:22
You mentioned that you were a research technician, what are some of the things day to day that you did as a research technician?
Amber 4:29
So I worked in a breast cancer research lab. So there are a lot of different tests that we did. It was like a medium sized lab, there were, I don't know 15 to 20 people. And as a lab technician, at least in the academic side, you often sort of act as support for everyone in the lab. So I got to sort of work on a lot of different things. objects I might be staining tissues, or I might be isolating DNA. Or I might just be taking care of someone's cells if they were away for the weekend. And so there was sort of a lot of opportunity to do a lot of different things and see the different areas of just breast cancer research. My lab was focused on metastasis. So some people were working on like brain metastasis, some people were working on a single cell level. So there was just a lot of opportunity to do a lot of different things.
Peter Kazarinoff 5:40
Was there any specialized personal protective equipment PPE that you had to wear or work with when you were a research technician?
Amber 5:49
Yeah, typicallywear a lab coat, especially because you're dealing with various chemicals and reagents, and you don't want them to spill on your clothes. And especially if it's anything toxic, or something biodegradable. So lab coats are always a mask, and safety goggles if we were working with anything that might splash and could, you know, cause danger to our eyes. And of course, with COVID, we had the masks and the face shields. And what else Oh, and gloves. Of course, we weren't gloves all the time, you didn't touch most things with your bare hands. So we went through a lot of clubs, and I also did some mouse work. So I had to put on a full get up, which you know, involves sort of a disposable lab coat as well as like a hairnet because the mice were immunocompromised. So I got to wear a lot of different PPE.
Peter Kazarinoff 6:55
And tell me a little bit more about the kinds of people that you worked with, as a technician, did you work with other technicians? Or did you work with engineers and scientists as well?
Amber 7:05
So as the technician, I was also the lab manager. So most of the people in the lab, were PhD students, or postdoctoral students, or just research associates, which means they were past their postdoctoral period. And we're just working in the lab, so and some master's students, so it was sort of a nice range of ages and backgrounds. We also had a visiting scholar that was with us for about a year. So that was really interesting, you know, learning. Like she had her own lab, over in Asia, where she was from, and, you know, learning, she came to, like, learn the techniques that we had here so that she could take back to her lab and did some collaboration. So a lot of different sort of backgrounds. And I was fortunate to be in a lab that was really cohesive. So I, you know, if I wasn't quite sure how to do something, I could ask some questions. And, you know, our principal investigator who was in charge of the lab was also really great about answering questions and just being very available.
Peter Kazarinoff 8:23
Can you tell me a little bit more about what a principal investigator is? And then also about what kind of communication you did with your team members?
Amber 8:32
So a principal investigator means you know, different things depending on what field you're in. But at the academic level, that usually means someone who has a lab that they're running. And they are, they've gone through their PhD, and their postdoctorate work. And they've decided that they found something in their work that they want to explore on their own, and they want to open up basically their own lab. So they're in charge of assigning projects to different people in their lab, making sure that the work stays on track. They do a lot of grant writing, at least in academia. So they're sort of the head honcho of the lab. And as far as communication. Being there for COVID was hard, and we had to open up a program called slack, which was basically sort of an instant messaging service. And that was a good way to keep people in communication. Because we were working in shifts, so you might not see someone because they were on the night shift or you are on the night shift and they were on the day shift. So we use that, but also before COVID And then after restrictions sort of lifted, people were in the lab, you know, from somewhat normal business hours, like nine ish to six ish. So it's just sort of a big room with a lot of bench space and desks. So you know, if I had a question, I could just walk over and ask somebody, we also had a text message group, so it was easy to contact them. And my principal investigator wasn't always on site, because she also taught classes, or may have had to go to conferences. So she was always available by phone or via zoom. So we use Zoom a lot, as I'm sure many people did during the pandemic,
Peter Kazarinoff 10:45
What part of your work as a research technician did you take the most pride in?
Amber 10:50
I think, just being able to do help out with work that people may have known how to do. For instance, I got very good at cryo sectioning. So cryo sectioning is where you've taken frozen samples. So if we sacrificed a mouse, and we were investigating whether there was an Tacitus, in the liver, we would take out the liver, and freeze it and liquid nitrogen, and then later on, I could go and take very small sections, like, you know, eight micrometers thick, so very small, but that's how you could stay in them. And I just got really good at that. And that was something that other people in my lab knew how to do. But the more you know, you do something, the better you get at it. So I was often asked you that. So it was nice to sort of have a skill set that people kind of looked for.
Peter Kazarinoff 11:57
Can you provide sort of a ballpark salary or range that technicians make when they work in the bioscience industry, like you did?
Amber 12:07
Um, well, I will say it does vary between academia and like industry, like if you're going to work for, you know, pharma, like Johnson and Johnson, or Amgen, or something like that. But in academia, I think it's important also to say that a lot of salaries are based on grants. So that's really why it's important for the principal investigator to be good at grant writing, because more money means you can hire more people, but I the salary range, for my position was probably between like 18 to, like $23 an hour. And that kind of varies on how much experience you have. And then there are also ways where you get a different job title, but you may still be doing sort of the same type of thing that could get to a little bit more higher on the pay scale.
Peter Kazarinoff 13:07
What types of flexibility or job benefits like health care retirement did you enjoy when you worked as a technician?
Amber 13:15
I have to say that although academia may have lower salaries than sort of pharma that the benefits were really good, you know, you had like two week vacation for Christmas. Like if you had stayed, you're sort of if you had not use sick days, and those are really good, the health benefits were really good. They also contributed to a 401k life insurance, so you got a lot of good. Other benefits, and especially being there during COVID. And because working at a university and you know, having a range of people from undergraduate students all the way to professors, you know, they were very vigilant with testing, and none of that cost us anything. And so it was, you know, I felt it was a really great place to be during this hard time.
Peter Kazarinoff 14:22
Do you remember what it felt like your first day at work as a research technician? What did it feel like walking into that lab for the first time?
Amber 14:30
I think it was exciting. I was excited to just sort of get to work and, you know, I was like, Okay, what's next? What's next and the first day, there's a lot of, you know, welcome to your job here. Here's how you sign up for benefits. Here's how you block your hours. So it wasn't I had to sort of remind myself that I, you know, was new and it was going to take a while While to sort of get up to speed, I also had not done breast cancer research before. So the first few weeks, I read a lot of papers. And so I was really excited to sort of just get to work and you know, get the science out there. And it was like, okay, just take a minute, you know, you got to rev up to that you can't just kind of jump in at, you know, full speed. So I was excited. And it was a great environment to be in where everybody was very helpful, you know, and made you feel welcome.
Peter Kazarinoff 15:38
Amber, tell me a little bit more about how you moved from a research technician, to your current role at ICON.
Amber 15:46
So actually, they're along the same path. So as a research technician, I was at the preclinical end. And the preclinical end is where all the discoveries are made. And, you know, new drugs are developed, but it can take up to like 10 years to make it to market to actually getting into humans. And I wanted to get a little closer to the end, where I would see the benefits of, you know, what people have done in the labs in humans. And so that's how I made my transition from sort of preclinical to my job at ICON. Now, where I'm working in early development, so I'm getting to see how, you know, the new drugs react in people, you know, for the first time, which is really kind of exciting. little nerve racking. And, you know, just sort of getting to see the effects sooner. I mean, I really think that there's a lot of good work happening in the lab. But it also been really interesting to see what all that work was, you know, pushed further down the line. What types
Peter Kazarinoff 17:06
of things did you learn working as a technician that you now use day to day in your new role?
Amber 17:11
Definitely time management and the ability to sort of work on your own. As a research lab technician, people would say, Okay, I need this, and I need that. And I would, you know, have to sort of say, Okay, here's what my plan was for the day, I'm working on so and so's project so I can get to your project later. So learning how to organize my calendar, to get everything done in the timelines that they wanted. So yeah, time management has really been something that's really important. Now, because I also do more remote work now, so learning how to do time management, you know, when you're working from home, which can be a little bit harder. And, you know, making a list of here's what I'm going to do today, here's what I'm going to get done today, since there's no one you know, breathing over my shoulder. So it's been really helpful to sort of have that experience of setting my own calendar, and planning out, you know, my day or my week.
Peter Kazarinoff 18:24
Remember, we've talked a lot about your work life. Let's switch gears and talk a little bit about education. Tell me about your journey. Moving to Pasadena City College, what prompted you to make that decision? And what was Pasadena City College like?
Amber 18:41
Well, this is sort of my second career. I was previously a production stage manager. So the short version is that I worked on like productions on Broadway and touring productions as sort of a manager providing oversight for the productions. And that was a great job, but did not allow for a lot of sort of time to be with family. And I decided I wanted to have more time to do that. And with most of my family being on the other coast. I was like, What can I do that I think that will still be interesting. And when I first went to school at University of Virginia, I was initially pre med, and I was gonna go that track and then I got the theater bug, and that kind of stole me away. But I thought, let me go back to science. Let me go back to something that I used to really enjoy. And in looking for that my mother actually told me about these biotech certificate programs that you could go through at the community college. And I looked at Pasadena as program and it was hands on. And it also involved research, which I thought would be really interesting and sort of, you know, keep your brain going. And so yeah, so that's why I had moved out here for that. And then being in that program, I learned a lot of different techniques. Yeah, from the bench to learning how to do better research, to learning how to put together scientific posters. And then that program also is connected with the CIRM Bridges Program, which is the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. And that program grants certain institutions money to then send people to work in labs. And so that's actually how I ended up at University of Southern California, I was a part of the CIRM Bridges Program. And my site was University of Southern California. So that gave you hands on experience, you know, in an actual lab, so you could see what that was like, for, you know, fully diving in. And I think that's another thing that's really great about community colleges, is that you can explore a lot of different options without committing to a full four year program.
Peter Kazarinoff 21:27
What advice would you give current students or people who want to transition careers and work as a technician?
Amber 21:34
Well, first of all, I would say it's never too late to try something new. And as I say, in community colleges are a really great way to move into new careers, and it's financially affordable. And if you want to work in biotech, and you are a sort of any sort of industry that you're not too familiar with, just try start with, like internships, or reaching out to people that you know, that are in the industry that, you know, you can talk to, and find out more from them about the jobs, and they may have maybe not internships, but you may be able to shadow them. So there's a lot of sort of different ways that you can connect with people in the field that you're interested in. And people I found are very helpful. I mean, people that I didn't even know, I would, you know, email and say, Hey, I hear here in this area, can you give me some advice on, you know, how I can get in, or books I should be reading or certifications I need or classes I should be getting? So don't be afraid to reach out to people you don't know.
Peter Kazarinoff 22:55
Amber, do you have a final call to action for students or people who want to transition their careers like you did? What would you tell those people right now,
Amber 23:05
Network. Network. Network. As I was saying, find someone like in your circle who's in the field, but even if they're not LinkedIn, set up a LinkedIn profile. Even if you don't have the job that you want right now. I connected to a lot of people that had the job that I was looking for, ask them for tips again, ask them, you know, there were specific certifications I needed. And everyone, I mean, not everyone got back to me. So but the people that did were very generous, and I still talk to a lot of those people that you know, they check in with me and it's important that it's not just a sort of give, give give relationship, you know, if you're local to them, you know, offer to meet up and talk over coffee, you know, and try to set up more of a relationship as opposed to a you know, just tell me everything, you know, how do I do this situation?
Peter Kazarinoff 24:11
Amber, thank you so much for sharing your story on talking technicians.
Amber 24:16
Thank you for having me.
Peter Kazarinoff 24:17
Please keep in touch.
Amber 24:18
I will.
Peter Kazarinoff 24:25
Talking Technicians is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program. Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation. Join the conversation. If you are a working technician, or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org We're always looking out for great guests to share more stories with you.