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Interview
with Mary Husby When Mary Husby turned 40 with three girls to support (two in high school and one in middle school), she felt the need to go back to school before her oldest started college. She spotted an article in the Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer job section about Biotechnology, a field she found fascinating. The article listed skills and areas of study
required to succeed in Biotechnology. The subjects were ones she was drawn
to, mostly science and math related. Mary had previously worked as a pond
keeper testing water quality, and had taken one year of general courses
at a Community College. She began to search for a program offering the
practical skills required for entry into the field. Shoreline Community College’s Biotechnology program, with its two-year curriculum, appealed to her because she could acquire the hands-on skills within a minimum amount of time. She had learned from talking with others, “Some people who’ve earned four-year degrees still have to find a way to get the hands-on skills I got throughout my two-year curriculum. Shoreline also placed me in an internship, which gave me increased opportunities to learn and apply my hands-on skills. No matter what job you start at, you need the hands-on skills. A four-year degree gives you a broader background in cell theory if you want to pursue research on your own; otherwise I’d recommend that people go to Community College to acquire the hands-on skills needed to break into the field.” Part of Mary’s Shoreline program included meeting with the Internship Coordinator, who gave her the names of three potential employers. Each student made her own contacts and set up her own interviews for internships. After talking with a couple of employers, Mary really clicked with the people at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where the internship included doing a variety of functions such as helping with production, doing cell culture and performing an array of quality control tests. Even though another employer offered a paid internship, Mary wanted to learn the new skills offered by the Fred Hutchinson position. The internship lasted for 60 days, at the end of which she was offered a part-time position (30 hours weekly) as a Biologics Technician. After five months, she was offered a full-time role as a Quality Control Associate. Mary brought the hands-on skills learned in her Community College courses such as buffer preparation, basic pipetting techniques, aseptic techniques and cell culture skills, all of which helped her immediately as she began working at the Fred Hutchinson Biologics lab.“Employers should look into these Biotech programs’ internships to know what they offer. There’s such a good selection of well trained people with basic skills and up-to-date knowledge to hire. “Of course, whether you’re an intern or a new hire, you need to have a good work ethic balanced with dependability and curiosity. In addition to the hands-on skills, you need to be good at working with people, because in most labs you’ll work in a group where you present your findings, exchange information and go over what you’re doing. Most labs are small with a lot of people in them. You may work on tests alone, but you still have to negotiate with others for the use of equipment. Your people and communication skills must be part of the package. Employers hiring interns from these Community College Biotech programs gain someone with hands-on skills who’s not carrying the ‘baggage’ of doing things other ways at other jobs. As long as the intern or new employee is flexible, the employer gets to mold and shape him or her without the costly problem of having to break old habits.” |
