Frances is a Lab Manager in the Centre for Inflammation Research in the QMRI, BioQuarter. She kindly shares some thoughts on her experience of becoming Professionally Registered as a Chartered Scientist (CSci)

In 2019, I started to think about my contract ending in 2021. After working with the same PI for over 18 years the thought of applying and being interviewed for a new position was daunting. How could I demonstrate to potential new employers the vast amount of experience, the wide range of technical expertise and the transferable skills I had accumulated over the past 30 years working as a technician in academia? How could I make my CV stand out from the crowd?

It was at this time I attended a Professional registration workshop organised through the University Technician Commitment initiative. I learned of the opportunity to apply for professional registration through the Science Council and the available University funding to support the application.  Gaining professional registration I believed would demonstrate my ability to work to a high professional standard.

Initially I found completing the application quite formidable, but by attending the IST workshop and obtaining invaluable feedback from Val Gordon, Lee Murphy and Philippa Saunders my PI, I came to see the process as a positive experience. It allowed me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses and I feel in a much stronger position going forward in the next exciting chapter in the life of a technician.

Science Council Professional Registration – Frances Collins / University of Edinburgh Technicians by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

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