Technician

Overview

Key skills:

• Bachelor’s Degree or HNC (Higher National Certificate) in a relevant field, or equivalent industry experience
• Experience relevant to the role in either a research or lab environment
• A practical mindset, with the ability to apply developed skills with accuracy and precision
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Good communication skills, able to convey information and instruction clearly and accurately.
• Ability to work efficiently and decisively in a team

Typical job titles: Technician, Support Technician, Teaching Technician, Workshop Technician, Core Facility Technician, IT Specialist

There is a wide range of technician roles, all of which are vital to successful research in different settings or to teaching within a university:

• Research technicians support research in a research group and/or laboratory. They are a key member of the team and may be closely involved in the research itself.
• Teaching technicians set up student practical classes but often provide technical support for teaching classes too, and may themselves teach or tutor as well.
• Support technicians help to enable teaching and research to take place, undertaking many of the backroom roles needed (see also Assistant Technician)
• Core facility technicians specialise in the use of particular scientific instruments or experimental techniques, rather than being in a particular research group. Without these people, lots of experimental or analytical research just can’t happen.
• Workshop technicians operate, maintain, test and repair instruments and experimental apparatus. They may also design and build new equipment. These technicians are widely found in universities and research institutes, especially in engineering and related departments.
• IT specialists can work as IT operations technicians (for example, installing, configuring and maintaining computer networks) or as IT user support technicians (providing direct assistance to staff and students).

In practice, a technician role can be a mix of more than one of these types, such as combining specialised research support with more general support activities. Technicians use their practical skills and strong technical or scientific knowledge to play a vital role in research and development or educating the future STEM workforce. In many cases they work as part of a team, using their specialist know-how to help researchers, lecturers and students achieve their goals.