So today is my 9th day. I still love it but LOTS of work. Here is my day...
Do rounds to check for loose stool/vomit/blood any signs of distress. Then I feed all the animals. Then put the TV in for movie time. Then clean cages. Then snacks. Then lunch time. Then checks for health etc and clean up.
Basically it is exactly like working at a day care which I did for a few years.
We have a list of seniority and I am on the bottom but not sure how things will change as I move up. I think basically the over time will change and weekend work. Right now I am not trained enough to work weekends. But I will start working weekends and get two week days off in about four weeks. That is fine because I am a competitive figure skater and could use the weekdays for practice.
So far so good! I luv the animals!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Oh yeah, the HUMANS
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the PEOPLE! When you work with animals, it is so cool that you tend to forget about the humans you work with.
So the first day I was trained by a lead tech who is awesome and just as anal as me. She like to do things in a certain order and fast, like me. I really like her. She is like the second in command and the first in command is usually busy so she is my main contact. Let's call her Jane.
Then there is my buddy who started two weeks ago so we are like best friends now and working in the same area. She is great. Let's call her Ann.
Then there is this one girl, we will call her Mary, who is kind of careless with her work but very nice. But since I am so NOT careless, I like her but don't admire her.
Then there is a girl I will call Cassie who is hilarious and I love.
Then the guys, who we don;t work with very much but they are so funny and nice.
My favorite girl is a biker girl who is AWESOME and has experience working with exotic animals and if I were a lesbian I would be in LOVE with! She is so awesome with the animals and pays close attention to her work. And she takes time with each of them. She is just so cool and I only got to work with her becuase I am new so she was there to help today. But she is normally with another group. I really hope I get to work with her lots though becuase she just is the coolest.
Okay 'nough now.
So the first day I was trained by a lead tech who is awesome and just as anal as me. She like to do things in a certain order and fast, like me. I really like her. She is like the second in command and the first in command is usually busy so she is my main contact. Let's call her Jane.
Then there is my buddy who started two weeks ago so we are like best friends now and working in the same area. She is great. Let's call her Ann.
Then there is this one girl, we will call her Mary, who is kind of careless with her work but very nice. But since I am so NOT careless, I like her but don't admire her.
Then there is a girl I will call Cassie who is hilarious and I love.
Then the guys, who we don;t work with very much but they are so funny and nice.
My favorite girl is a biker girl who is AWESOME and has experience working with exotic animals and if I were a lesbian I would be in LOVE with! She is so awesome with the animals and pays close attention to her work. And she takes time with each of them. She is just so cool and I only got to work with her becuase I am new so she was there to help today. But she is normally with another group. I really hope I get to work with her lots though becuase she just is the coolest.
Okay 'nough now.
I LOVE IT!!
So My first day was supposed to be May 1, which was a Thursday. But I ended up having to stay at my old job that Thursday and Friday, so I officially started on May 5. Today is Thursday May 8, almost a full week of work at my new job. I LOVE IT!!!!
I was concerned because I have been working in scientific research for 12 years and I heard from everyone and I mean EVERYONE that my new job as a vet tech would suck. They were betting I would last a week or two and that I did not know what I was in for.
A bit more on background...I began my work in research in 1993 in the field of Zoology. First, studying fruit flies for a year, then bats for two years, then lizards for a year, then river otters for a year. Each of these species studies involved a TON of field work. Meaning the work involved crawling on my stomach through bat poo and climbing mounds of rocks looking for nests of lizard eggs and wading through muddy rivers looking for otter dens. Then taking samples of poo and urine and blood from all of them.
Once I entered grad school, hearing that biotech was where the money was, I began my career as a research tech/lab manager and spent my days indoors sitting all day working with tiny tubes and spinning samples and loading plates into robots to collect data. I was involved in this type of work from 1996 until now. Once you get your Master's degree, from what I know anyway, you have about three avenues you can take career wise...
(1) You can become a lab manager (like me) and run a lab under a PI. If you take this route, your best bet for salary advancement is to STAY in a lab. Those I know who have been in one lab for ten years make 50K per year at least. If you have problems with your boss or the work or anything and decide to choose a new lab every 2-3 years, you will likely get a 1K raise every year. Starting at 23K, you can be at 33K in ten years. So best to stay put.
(2) You can work for Biotech. Everyone I know who has worked for Biotech has been laid off. But the thing is... you get paid so much in biotech that once you are laid off you are making like 43K, so when you get hired on in Academic, you have to at least start at 43K. So that is one other way to make the $$$. But low on the job security side.
(3) You can go back to school and get your PhD.
So I took route #1. I was never really happy once I moved away from Zoology and tended to shift around from lab to lab. I began in a lab in 1996 (grad school) and in 1999 moved to another lab after graduation. I stayed a year and in 2000 moved to another lab at a different place entirely. Then in 2002 I moved labs again. Then again in 2004 and then again in 2006. Reasons for moving varied for me. In one case, loss of funding. Another, my boss moved away and I didn't want to relocate. A couple of times I moved because I was looking for something different. But overall, I was moving labs about every 2 years because I was not happy with research. Or should I say, I was not happy with biomedical research.
So anyway, flash forward to now. My fourth day at my new job as vet tech. I cannot stop SMILING! I am so thrilled to do EVERYTHING! I spend at least 90% of my time with the animals and it just reminds me of why I got into science in the first place! I should have been doing zoology this whole time! Bit of advice... don't ever go into a career path for the money. Make sure it is something you love. I love working with animals and should have stuck with that. The only advantage to having gone through biomed research is that I left research at 34K and was able to begin my vet tech work at 35K. And we automatically get 1K a year raise and in addition a raise for every vet tech certification exam we pass. So I have a big boost in salary that other vet techs may not have. But let's not talk money... because it is all about the way you spend your day at work. Do you love it? Even when it sucks? That is what you need to ask yourself.
I have spent the last three days cleaning cages, feeding, giving treats, doing "rounds," and giving meds. Most importantly, learning the names of my new animal friends and feeling out their different personalities. Some love to be pet and some are shy and would rather you just give them a treat and leave. Some want to sit and "talk" and some want to show off and some want to try and be a bad ass. I just love them all.
I don't think I mentioned I work at the zoo. So these are not animals like in the vet where they come and go. These animals live here. So you get to know them very well over time. Some of the techs here know all of the animals names and personalities. I can't wait to meet more animals and get to know them better. I have to say, animals and I get along alot better than alot of people and I do. I thank the Lord for the gift of animals. Those of us who are "weird" and don't get along all that well with humans have a chance to make relationships with animals. It is truly a great gift.
YAY! So far so good. From what I hear, I will get sick and tired of the work. But I seriously doubt it at this point.
I was concerned because I have been working in scientific research for 12 years and I heard from everyone and I mean EVERYONE that my new job as a vet tech would suck. They were betting I would last a week or two and that I did not know what I was in for.
A bit more on background...I began my work in research in 1993 in the field of Zoology. First, studying fruit flies for a year, then bats for two years, then lizards for a year, then river otters for a year. Each of these species studies involved a TON of field work. Meaning the work involved crawling on my stomach through bat poo and climbing mounds of rocks looking for nests of lizard eggs and wading through muddy rivers looking for otter dens. Then taking samples of poo and urine and blood from all of them.
Once I entered grad school, hearing that biotech was where the money was, I began my career as a research tech/lab manager and spent my days indoors sitting all day working with tiny tubes and spinning samples and loading plates into robots to collect data. I was involved in this type of work from 1996 until now. Once you get your Master's degree, from what I know anyway, you have about three avenues you can take career wise...
(1) You can become a lab manager (like me) and run a lab under a PI. If you take this route, your best bet for salary advancement is to STAY in a lab. Those I know who have been in one lab for ten years make 50K per year at least. If you have problems with your boss or the work or anything and decide to choose a new lab every 2-3 years, you will likely get a 1K raise every year. Starting at 23K, you can be at 33K in ten years. So best to stay put.
(2) You can work for Biotech. Everyone I know who has worked for Biotech has been laid off. But the thing is... you get paid so much in biotech that once you are laid off you are making like 43K, so when you get hired on in Academic, you have to at least start at 43K. So that is one other way to make the $$$. But low on the job security side.
(3) You can go back to school and get your PhD.
So I took route #1. I was never really happy once I moved away from Zoology and tended to shift around from lab to lab. I began in a lab in 1996 (grad school) and in 1999 moved to another lab after graduation. I stayed a year and in 2000 moved to another lab at a different place entirely. Then in 2002 I moved labs again. Then again in 2004 and then again in 2006. Reasons for moving varied for me. In one case, loss of funding. Another, my boss moved away and I didn't want to relocate. A couple of times I moved because I was looking for something different. But overall, I was moving labs about every 2 years because I was not happy with research. Or should I say, I was not happy with biomedical research.
So anyway, flash forward to now. My fourth day at my new job as vet tech. I cannot stop SMILING! I am so thrilled to do EVERYTHING! I spend at least 90% of my time with the animals and it just reminds me of why I got into science in the first place! I should have been doing zoology this whole time! Bit of advice... don't ever go into a career path for the money. Make sure it is something you love. I love working with animals and should have stuck with that. The only advantage to having gone through biomed research is that I left research at 34K and was able to begin my vet tech work at 35K. And we automatically get 1K a year raise and in addition a raise for every vet tech certification exam we pass. So I have a big boost in salary that other vet techs may not have. But let's not talk money... because it is all about the way you spend your day at work. Do you love it? Even when it sucks? That is what you need to ask yourself.
I have spent the last three days cleaning cages, feeding, giving treats, doing "rounds," and giving meds. Most importantly, learning the names of my new animal friends and feeling out their different personalities. Some love to be pet and some are shy and would rather you just give them a treat and leave. Some want to sit and "talk" and some want to show off and some want to try and be a bad ass. I just love them all.
I don't think I mentioned I work at the zoo. So these are not animals like in the vet where they come and go. These animals live here. So you get to know them very well over time. Some of the techs here know all of the animals names and personalities. I can't wait to meet more animals and get to know them better. I have to say, animals and I get along alot better than alot of people and I do. I thank the Lord for the gift of animals. Those of us who are "weird" and don't get along all that well with humans have a chance to make relationships with animals. It is truly a great gift.
YAY! So far so good. From what I hear, I will get sick and tired of the work. But I seriously doubt it at this point.
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