Australia's Science Forum

Later this term, I need to train someone up for a one day a week casual spot here to allow me to do some of my WHS work. For the last few months and the rest of the term, my son has/is in once a week. He has been hearing me whinge about this job for years, was a former student here, is in his 4th year of a science degree so had a good handle on what needed to be done. My HT is keen to get someone else in to train up for next year. My son will probably have something more exciting and interesting to do from T4 onwards so won't be available. My HT wants to get the new person in before my son finishes up so I'm not trying to train someone, do my science role and my WHS work on my own. (Before you ask - there is already someone lined up.)

Now the question - what do I actually do? I had an email from Rosalie that really made me laugh. She was struggling to describe what she did and knew that she didn't "spend all day just washing up". It's the first thing that comes to mind but with no dirty pracs there is no washing up. I must be doing something else!

I always have things to do but a lot of those things requires experience and an in depth knowledge of the job. All the easy, fiddly jobs have been done - stocktakes, checking slides, sorting molymod kits have been done.

I'm really keen to hear from anyone who has had to take on a new person and what tasks you gave them. Day to day stuff - pulling out and putting away pracs, cleaning labs, restocking labs - will be the main focus but thinking of some on-going projects that the other person could take on that would take a load off my plate. I want to make sure the person is kept busy otherwise I will lose the support.

Do you have a science equipment inventory? When I took over here my predecessor had created an inventory of what we have, where it lives (and in some cases where it was purchased, date and cost!). Perhaps that’s something the newbie could work on in the ‘gaps’ between other tasks? It has been such a help to me as I have one teacher who helps himself and in the early days I would not have known where to put the random items that randomly appeared if I didn’t have the inventory to look it all up. They could go through a cupboard/shelf at a time. They will come across things to ask about that you won’t think to show and also become familiar with where to find things.

Great Idea Rosalie.

When I trained people we would get them to mix chemicals up, starting with a salt solution, then getting to bigger things. Doing the waste as it came in from the classrooms, checking the dropper bottles, before putting away. Writting out an order, (It was put into a book) I always worked with them, and never left them alone until I was happy that they where ok. It's a big job, I had a dishwasher in each Prep room, we never NEVER washed up, their was not any time for that.

I have to start thinking along these lines too, as I'd like to retire soon.
When you've been doing the same job for close enough to 30 years, it's hard to explain to someone new what to do and how to do it. So much of what I do is in my head. Getting it out and making sense of it for someone else is going to be so hard!!

J wrote: ↑02 Aug 2022, 14:31 I have to start thinking along these lines too, as I'd like to retire soon.
When you've been doing the same job for close enough to 30 years, it's hard to explain to someone new what to do and how to do it. So much of what I do is in my head. Getting it out and making sense of it for someone else is going to be so hard!!

Even after 10 years or so, I feel that most of my job is a mystery to me! I now understand why 1. when I first started I struggled to fill my week and 2. why my HT at the time couldn't tell me what I should be doing.

I'm hoping to be able to take on more WHS in the future and leave someone else in the labbie spot a couple of days a week. Fourteen more terms and I can access my super. Not sure what I will do at that point but I doubt I will be working full time!

I think our job is really "seasonal" too. I go through periods of pracs stacked every where in the prep room to periods like now where I have eight pracs out - that's everything that has been ordered. When it's busy, I'd just about kill for some back up. I guess I am trying to put pen to paper for all the jobs I normally do when it is quiet or what would help to have done when it is busy.

Annual maintenance of equipment eg: microscopes. I'm really struggling to get those jobs done this year.