Technicians Under the Microscope with James Fox
WolfLabs is putting technicians under the microscope!
This time, we’re featuring James Fox, a Senior Technical Manager in the Department of Biology at the University of York.
Read on to discover his career journey, biggest challenges, and advice for aspiring technicians.
1. Can you tell us about your current role?
My current role is a Senior Technical Manager in the Department of Biology at the University of York. I manage a team of technicians to support research and teaching activities within the department. The teams' primary role is to run the central autoclave and glasswash facilities to sterilise clean items, inactivate biological waste for disposal and clean all the glass / plasticware used in the research labs. Amongst other things, we also train staff/students to use multiple pieces of departmental equipment, which we also maintain. My role encompasses service contract management of equipment that requires statutory testing, such as microbial safety cabinets and autoclaves for the University and lab specific items found in multiple departments, such as balances. I'm the departmental Fire Warden, a first aider and deputy departmental safety officer too, so my job is very diverse!
2. What inspired you to become a technician?
Technicians are the heart and soul of many areas! Technicians are expected to be the fountain of all knowledge, the go to person to train others, solve problems, know how to do things or who to ask and so much more! I was lucky enough to work in labs with amazing technical support to see just how brilliant and invaluable technicians are, this inspired me to try to uphold this tradition and move into a technical role and then into technical management.
4. What advice would you give to someone interested in becoming a technician?
My advice would be to say yes to (just about!) any and every opportunity! Keep learning, keep trying new things - it keeps your job interesting and diverse and constantly developing. I'm a Science Council Professional Registration Assessor; on the editorial board for the Institute of Science & Technology's "The Tech Magazine"; I am the University Bioscience Managers Associations 'Communications officer'; a Technician Commitment Self-Assessment & Action plan Peer Reviewer and I am on a sub-committee for the Institute of Technical Skills and Strategies 'Technical Equality Diversity and Inclusion Network', to name but a few things I've said "yes" to! All of these external activities are extra work on top of my day job but they are hugely rewarding and the networking and information sharing I get from doing them is invaluable.
6. What does a typical day look like for you?
No two days are ever the same, really! There are some tasks in my role that are cyclical - for example annual servicing of autoclaves, so that is something that has to be done every year, often in the same way although each year the list of autoclaves might change or the service provider might alter. Apart from those kind of tasks, each day really is utterly different. I keep thinking I've already had "the strangest request" but I still get surprised by things that arrive into my email inbox - this week it was a blue tit stuck in a cavity wall that needed rescuing! That being said, a typical day or week involves lots of emails for things like training requests, queries, lab or equipment issues, arranging service contracts, equipment repairs etc. I am also on multiple committees so there is probably a committee meeting to attend, a weekly team meeting to lead, reports to read or write, asking companies like WolfLabs for quotes for new equipment and making orders, finance reports/budgeting to complete. There is also the odd out of hours call out to attend a freezer failure or the suchlike.
7. What’s the most surprising thing about being a technician that people might not know?
Its not super surprising but it does reiterate some of the above about each day being very different and my role being diverse. I am (and others can be after suitable training) a trained phlebotomist so i often take blood from donors for research taking place in the department. This opportunity came about during COVID times when we needed to increase the pool of trained staff that can undertake the task. It's something i enjoy doing so its something I've maintained my competency in and the researchers really benefit from the availability of fresh blood for immunology research.
8. What do you enjoy most about your job?
Problem solving. I really enjoy being able to think and solve a problem as an individual or with my team - i find it really enjoyable and rewarding to be tasked with a problem and to be able to solve it using technical experience, knowledge and skills. It could be something like a piece of equipment is not working as it should and we need to investigate to find out why to something more complex like a lab starting new work and needing new equipment or facilities - planning and problem solving those kind of issues and then seeing the output from the labs in the future is really satisfying.
If you would like to feature in our Scientists/Technicians under the Microscope, get in touch at sales@wolflabs.co.uk
