S03-E08 Sofia works at Genetech

Sofia is a Lab Services and Media Prep Technician at Genetech. Hear how Sophia went from a degree in world languages to a community college biotech program. Sophia shares her story and journey in this episode and has advice for folks who want to transition careers and start work as a technician. 

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:

The Micro Nano Technology Education Center (MNT-EC): https://micronanoeducation.org/

City College of San Francisco Biotechnology Program: https://www.ccsf.edu/degrees-certificates/biotechnology

Genetech: https://careers.gene.com/us/en

Episode Web Page: https://micronanoeducation.org/students-parents/talking-technicians-podcast/

Transcript

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 Sofia. Sofia works for Genentech, as a lab services and media prep technician in South San Francisco. Sofia, welcome to Talking Technicians.

Sofia  0:54  
Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Peter Kazarinoff  0:56  
So Sofia, you work in South San Francisco, how long have you been there? And what brought you there? If you haven't been there for your whole life.

Sofia  1:05  
I have been here since last August. So about a year started working at Genentech in January.

Peter Kazarinoff  1:16  
And is Genentech, what brought you to San Francisco? Or were there was there something else in your story that brought you there?

Sofia  1:22  
Well, I'm originally from Puerto Rico. And once I left, I went to do my masters in Massachusetts. And then I started studying science over there because I kind of got exposed to the biotech world. And that's kind of where the whole curiosity came into as far as like, the amount of jobs and possibilities that were out there for people that weren't necessarily scientist in the biotech field. But I started studying in Massachusetts, and then I wasn't loving my community college over there. So I was talking to a friend of mine that has kind of like, jumped around the states. And she told me about how California has like really good programs for students in community colleges, and just like a lot of help from the city. So then I looked into City College of San Francisco's biotech program, and it seemed to be one of the most complete and also I could transfer most of my credits. So that's kind of how I ended up here just following the program and trying to break into the science industry some way because my background is in foreign languages.

Peter Kazarinoff  2:24  
So Sofia, you mentioned that you were at a community college in the east, and then you moved to a community college in the West, what originally brought you to that first community college from growing up in Puerto Rico.

Sofia  2:37  
Um, I think that, like I said, I studied foreign languages, I kind of knew that I wanted to use it as a tool in my career, but I wasn't necessarily committed to like being an interpreter or a translator. So I tried it out. But I wanted to be a little bit more. I guess, like in, I don't know, I feel like coming from an island, I say this a lot. But like the real world, you know, like join a big kind of intimidating place with a bigger industry and more possibilities. So once I graduated from my master's, I realized that like, I didn't necessarily want to just work in finance, or be a consultant, because I didn't feel like I had the background or like the depth of knowledge, that would give me the confidence. So I saw these programs that were short term, and I was like, Okay, this is a possibility, then, because people don't necessarily have a background in science, when they go into these programs, they end up getting work experience faster than usual, which is something that I did experience, especially here in California. So that's kind of what drove me to the program in Massachusetts that I thought, Okay, this will give me hands on experience and like, I'll be able to break into the biotech fields. Even from a business standpoint, if you have scientific knowledge, it's valuable. But then when I researched the program here, and like I was financing it myself, I realized that I did need kind of like support from a program as well. And the one at City College was only when I saw that had an internship at the end. And that would kind of give me work experience before I graduated. So that's kind of what drove me to choose that one.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:20  
And you mentioned you have some experience in languages. When did you learn about biotech as a field or something that you might go into? Because that's kind of different from your previous education experience?

Sofia  4:34  
Yeah, I mean, I feel definitely learning foreign languages helped me see or learn a lot about different aspects because when you're learning a language, you'll just take anything like you'll listen to YouTube videos on like history or I don't know biotech experiments because you're just trying to like, exercise your brain into like accommodating this, all this new information and you want to leave So in my opinion, like, you want to make sure that you understand it in different contexts, right? So like, I can follow instructions, I can tell a joke, I can learn how to like read a map. So I listened to a lot of TED Talks and kind of got exposed to like, oh, well, these people work in science in Switzerland. And like, they also I don't know, write a book about Russian history. And so it was, I was kind of like already inclined to science. But I didn't know what I didn't know what exactly I could do in that field, with my background, so when I got to Massachusetts, I would say the, that was the biggest, I guess, opening to what the biotech world was, because it was a lot, at least in my program, they were super focused on data analytics, but they would also bring in stories of like business cases that we had to study. But companies that were developing new products, like new medical devices, I also had worked throughout the pandemic for a company in California as a drug safety associate. So that was also one of the first experiences I had professionally where I realized that like, there are clinical research coordinators and clinical research associates and people that work on clinical trials that don't necessarily have a scientific background, but still participate in the industry and like, have things to bring to the table.

Peter Kazarinoff  6:25  
Sofia, you mentioned that you moved all the way across the country to go to community college, and you financed it yourself, what was the hardest part of going through that community college program in California,

Sofia  6:40  
I think, I guess, like absorbing all of the new information and trusting that it's uncomfortable, but just like learning a new language, like if you I guess, relax, and accept that you don't know what you don't know. And that things are, like slow progress, you might see yourself differently from the other side, if you give it enough time, you know, like, it does require patience to study anything. And I think when I started the program, since I was financing it, I took a semester off because I was like, Okay, I'll I can't afford really is just like one semester of not working. And then the rest, I can take maybe later classes and work on the side. But the main classes or like chemistry, biology, math, like everything in one semester, coming from my background was like hardcore, because I had never, I think I had tried math probably like three times in college to break into like the natural sciences department. And I always reached a wall where I was like, That's it, like, I'm not good at it, I don't get it. I get lost in chapter three. And like, I'm just not good at math. So I can't do something that would require that period. And I think going through the community college program, and like not only going through the classes, but talking to people that felt the same way. And that were like in their second career, let's say, you know, like, I wasn't necessarily with people that had just graduated high school, I was with people that had already worked that were like me, you know, we had studied something else. We were trying to do this new thing and like, just pushing through, but I think that was something that really helped throughout because it was hard to think that I could do it given that like I had never done that before. You know, just just like the self doubt part, I think.

Peter Kazarinoff  8:32  
Mm hmm. And how did Community College prepare you for what you're doing now at Genentech?

Sofia  8:39  
I think that self doubt, definitely died down. Like just especially post pandemic, like we got to a point I took most of the classes that weren't lab oriented online. And then once we could actually be in person, it really did help to have small groups, because it felt like I really connected with the people that I studied with. And Community College helped in the sense of like, everything, at least in this program, like everything was super hands on. And I love that part because like I had never held a pipette before and I was like day one, my professor was super. I mean, he could be intimidating, but it was awesome that he was that person that's like, you're gonna want to be good at this, because I don't know, he's definitely somebody that was like kind of inspiring, because he was like, intimidating. He had all this knowledge and he pushed us and he expected something out of us, you know, regardless of our background. So after that first session, he was like, Alright, I'm gonna hold this session for people that have never held a pipette before if you want to stay later, like you can practice which I thought was really sweet, but I felt like in general, the whole program was like that were like, they were prepared to have a group of people that were in at the same level. And definitely train us on exactly what you're going to do once you get to the lab. So It prepared me in the sense of like, Oh, I understand what's happening. You don't you don't feel like an imposter once you reach the actual lab setting because you're like, Oh, this is what I did in class, you know, like, very complete.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:13  
Sofia, you mentioned that you move to San Francisco to go to the community college program that had an internship component. Could you talk a little bit about the internship component, and how that influenced your future decisions?

Sofia  10:27  
Yeah. So like I mentioned, I took a semester off, and then my second semester, that internship portion, they could be flexible, and like, let you have, like, in my case, I had an internship, but it was also my job. So that way, I could kind of finish the program, but still, like finance my life. And so it was actually really good, like a really good overall experience, because I got the industry experience. But for those credits, you had to take a class every Friday that was about like, just everybody sharing how their internship was going. If there were any issues or like any difficulties, let's say with your boss, or with a colleague, like any situation, we kind of had like a forum where we could talk about it. So it was nice to go through that experience, still with the Community College Support. Um, and in that sense, for the internship, we were very prepared beforehand, like we had to take a class where people would come and talk to us about how they applied how they found their lab, what they were looking for in an internship. In my case, I kind of always knew that I wanted to go into industry and not necessarily academia. So it was good to go from the lab into a company, but also find out that like, there was this whole other side where I could also implement things that I have learned in my previous degrees, because I was at a company so like, all the business knowledge from the Masters, even the foreign languages, because like we're in California, so it's very diverse has all been very, I guess it's all kind of come together from this experience.

Peter Kazarinoff  12:08  
And Sofia, you mentioned that working at Genentech is kind of like a second career for you. What was your work background before your current role?

Sofia  12:19  
It's all been kind of like slowly built, you know, stepping stones, I feel like I've searched through LinkedIn, how people made it certain places. So like the whole kind of drive since my master's and like, professionally has been to break into the science industry. So in Massachusetts, while I was studying, I was like, okay, what can I access right now with what I have. And I found this job in a pharmacy, as more or less like a pharmacy translator like I worked in the front like cashier, but it was essentially, because I spoke Spanish, and French, and Italian and like everything kind of helped because most of it was a community clinic. So most people that came were Hispanic, Portuguese, or they spoke Creole. And so that was like the first thing that I had done that was like, let's say, in the healthcare industry, before that I had worked on translations and interpretations, etc. But like, that was kind of like the first transition into it. And then from there, I worked in drug safety for a while about like two years. That really helped as far as like the business biotech side for a biopharma company. And then after that I studied

Peter Kazarinoff  13:42  
And Sofia, eventually that led you to your lab services and media prep technician job at Genentech, what did it feel like walking into Genentech, your very first day of work there.

Sofia  13:55  
It felt really good because when I was working as a drug safety associate, most people most of my co workers had actually come from Genentech. So I've kind of been back and forth between California and Massachusetts. I'm like, I want to stay I want to leave I want to stay I want to leave so it was nice to come back to a place that I had heard so much about but I had never been while I was here working with those people, they were all like transitioning out of it because they're like, it's a great company. I spent like 10 years and most of them were young. So 10 years is like people fresh out of college that are just going to their second job because they worked in this one for 1011 years. So it had like in my mind a really good reputation and the first day it did feel like wow, this is I don't know like something that thing that you hear about that you're like I have had so many twists and turns and like I didn't really I don't know think that I could make it this far. And then I made it this far in this place that like is so well renowned, you know, and now I understand why I felt really good.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:02  
And Sofia, oh, what does a lab services and media prep technician do, but something really exciting that you do at work?

Sofia  15:11  
I think day to day, at least in my case, we're kind of in charge of cleaning the lab where and distributing all the media, that the researchers in the research and development departments, specifically, the ones that they use regularly, so like preparing car plates, PBS, washing the glassware, it taking in any new orders, I think the most exciting thing is just the diversity, like, especially in r&d, there are a lot of things that you get to see or materials that you get to use that are just different every day. And I think that access, we work together with the media prep team, so it's like glassware cleaning and distribution, and then the media preparation team are all in the same lab. So I guess just having that flow really is exciting, because for somebody who's never worked in a lab before, it's like, all the information is easily accessible. You know, like, you know, really, you just need to talk to people. There's some very open,

Peter Kazarinoff  16:12  
And Sofia, how much could somebody expect to make in a position like yours, lab technician position?

Sofia  16:20  
I think it really does vary by state. But here in California, I would say, starting out depends if you're between contractor and full time employee, there is a difference. So I would say as a contractor, maybe between like 40 to 50 a year. And once or like if he gets a full time, then it could be around like 60 to 70.

Peter Kazarinoff  16:47  
That sounds to me like a pretty good living. So you mentioned that there's some contractors and some people that work full time, what's kind of your working schedule? Do you work a nine to five or a 12? hour shifts? A couple of days a week? How do you work?

Sofia  17:10  
Um, currently it is 7am to 330, because we kind of get everything done ideally before people come in. So there's a lot of value in those first few hours before you have the hallways full of people, if you're trying to like distribute and prepare. I guess it's also because like, it's like, we're the elves you know, like, you have to leave everything set before people come in to do their experiments, they need to have all the equipment. So currently, it's 7330. So definitely, I think for lab environment, you have to have stamina, but it's also nice, it really pays off to be a morning person.

Peter Kazarinoff  17:43  
So Sofia, what advice would you give current students or people who want to transition into a new career like you do, and work in your industry?

Sofia  17:54  
I think the most important thing to remember is that you'll never know until you try. And even if it is, it is a good thing, right to like, try new things, put yourself out there, like be out of your comfort zone. But also know that like maybe sometimes it's you. It's the wrong turn, you know, but like you don't know what you don't like until you give it a shot. And then you're like, oh, you know what, like, I actually didn't want industry maybe I wanted academia, but like just that experience alone is enough to guide you. So that whole learn from your mistakes aspects is like be prepared to be a bit uncomfortable with things when they don't work out. But also understand that like you wouldn't find what you want until you try what you don't like sort of thing. It's really valuable.

Peter Kazarinoff  18:46  
Sofia, do you have a final call to action for students or people want to transition careers and work as a lab technician like you.

Sofia  18:55  
I think it's basically the same thing like try and don't be afraid. I think the money aspect is very powerful. Like just thinking that you don't have enough to finance is one one aspect of things like there are so many they programs and like people with information that are willing to help if you just ask them. I think it's really important because sometimes you just need to hear the right thing at the right time in order to like, take that next step. So if it's if I think really evaluate like if your fear is financial, then try to figure it out because that's not enough to not try something that can change your life.

Peter Kazarinoff  19:37  
Let's Sofia, thank you so much for sharing your story and your journey with me on talking technicians.

Sofia  19:43  
Yeah, it's been really fun. Thank you for having me.

Peter Kazarinoff  19:46  
Please keep in touch. 

Sofia  19:48  
We'll do.

Peter Kazarinoff  19:55  
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.