Technically Minded – Sarah McCafferty [Reposted from University of Edinburgh Bulletin Magazine]
Photo by Sam Sills
As a research technician within the Genetics Core of the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility my role primarily involves extracting DNA and RNA from a range of sample types for biobanking or further genomic investigation. This was my first job after graduating from University and over my time in this post, my role has greatly expanded, and I felt like I was gaining huge amounts of knowledge and experience, but these skills were not well understood outside of other life science professionals. Through my engagement with the Department of Sustainability and Social Responsibility I learned about the Science Council’s professional registration scheme, and this seemed like an amazing opportunity to have my skills externally recognised, and validation of all the knowledge and experience I have gained in this post.
Another factor in my decision to become professionally registered was my membership of the University’s Technician Steering Committee, and I believe if as a committee we are trying to encourage registration among technical staff we should lead by example and become professionally registered ourselves where possible. All these opportunities strengthened my resolve that professional registration was an excellent opportunity to further develop myself.
Despite some difficulties getting started, thanks to the encouragement of my management team, and other wonderful colleagues I felt really supported in completing my application, once I began the process. As there were a group of us from within the Genetics Core applying in a similar timeframe it was often really helpful to chat over applications with my colleagues, as there can be competences where it can feel like you have nothing to write about, but a quick chat with people who see your work can often really help focus your mind on what skills you do bring to the table.
The process of completing the competence report, was a great chance to really focus on what I have achieved over the last few years and see how much I have developed since starting in this role. Receiving external recognition of my skills has increased my confidence and driven me to seek out further training opportunities and reflect more on my future direction. Another massive benefit of professional registration is membership of a professional body which opens a new network of professionals to become involved with.
Often technical roles can be poorly understood, especially by those who don’t work directly with technicians. This is exacerbated by the diverse range of roles technicians perform, but their work is essential to the University. The benefits to the wider community include external recognition for the unique skills and expertise this group of staff possess, and an opportunity to build confidence by reflecting on skills and experiences. Professional registration shows a clear commitment to professional development, which may be helpful when looking for a promotion or new roles and gives applicants access to wider networks beyond the University, through your licensing body and the science council itself. And because there are three levels of accreditation this is a great scheme for technical staff at all career levels.
Sarah McCafferty is a member of the University of Edinburgh Technician Steering Committee member and Research Technician in the ECRF Genetics core, primarily working in sample processing. She is passionate about science communication and the development of technical staff, spends too much time looking at cat gifs and can be found on twitter @ScienceSaz
An edited version of this post first appeared on the University of Edinburgh Bulletin Magazine Blog and we’ll be posting Alistair Craig, and Stuart Martin’s sections of this post on our blog soon!
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