News: British Science Week — Jack’s building a career in science
British Science Week 2019 is a 10-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, being held 8-17 March. We spoke to Jack, an Apprentice Science Technician who is building a career in science!
25-year-old Jack Hack works at Nottingham College’s Maid Marian Way campus. He’s using his apprenticeship to kick-start a career in science.
Jack’s job involves creating resources for students to use on science courses (both further education and university-level) at Nottingham College.
My role is very varied, so I’m always learning something new. Science is such a big field, with a lot of specialisms. It’s so big you’re bound to find something that will interest you!
— Jack
A typical day for Jack could involve building up the stock of bacteria and fungi, making up growth cultures like agar gel and preparing petri dishes for use in experiments, inoculating slope cultures that can then have bacteria introduced for testing, or using the autoclave heating machine to sterilise equipment under high pressure.
Once a week he also has a day studying at the College, to work towards his qualification.
At the moment, my plan is to just build up my experience for a career in science. My family are all really pleased that I’ve got a career path that I’m working towards.
— Jack
The job requires Jack to be careful and thorough, making sure he avoids any cross contamination, and that everything is correctly measured and labelled. This is a crucial part of his job, so that the students can draw accurate scientific conclusions from their experiments.
I felt that with an apprenticeship I could build up experience for a career in science. I’m most interested in biology, but I’m glad this is an all-round role, as I will learn physics and chemistry and build up my knowledge in them as well.
— Jack
Nicola Clements, Science Technician at Nottingham College, added: “Jack is very enthusiastic and eager to learn. He has gained confidence and is now showing a lot of independence in the workplace.
“He is very friendly and approachable and a pleasure to work with, fitting into the team with ease.”
Published on:
- 8th March 2019 (11:00 AM)
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