Elisa Falconer

"I’m not surprised by my personality types at all! I have worked in my laboratory for 8 years now and am considered one of the “go to’s” so coaching less experienced members of staff is part of my role. Over the last few years I have been developing my leadership skills and am involved with scheduling and budgeting so the manager type also fits. I review data and reports of other scientist and am known as the picky one. I strive for the best quality reports when I’m writing too. It has to be just right. I thought I may get investigator as I really like to understand every part of something but I guess you only get 3!"

"I work in an analytical chemistry laboratory for a company that manufactures fluid management solutions for various industries - mostly biotech / pharmaceutical companies. We focus on what our products would add to their drugs and end up in a patient. As one of the more experienced members of my team, I perform a lot of non standard testing and contamination investigations which I compile formal reports for. I am responsible for scheduling test work for the laboratory and lead the laboratory health and safety activities. I am also part of the global chemistry subject matter expert group at my company. I am the apprentice supervisor for our laboratory apprentice. I enjoy the variety of my work and love seeing our team develop. I love being able to calculate what and how much there is of something based on a peak on a screen! I don’t know why it’s so satisfying. A starting salary for my role as an associate scientist is £26000-£28000. "

"I took a slightly less transitional route in that I joined my job straight from college. I was so worried that I had not done as well as thought I would need to to get a job in my A-levels (B,C,C) but was accepted into a degree and I completed it part time over 5 years whilst working full time (well 4 days a week). I managed to get a first class and think maturity helped! This was before apprenticeships were a thing at my company but I was lucky enough that my company paid for my degree which meant I was earning (£15000 to start with) and keeping out of debt. In fact I was able to buy my first home at the age of 22. I got promoted over time to where I am now but started at the bottom and worked my way up one by one (5 positions in 8 years). "

"Outside of work I do plenty of DIY around the house and enjoy cooking new foods. I have knitted for years but only recently started crochet and macrame but never managed to finish something - I need to keep my projects smaller. I have quite a few houseplants and none of them have died yet, so that’s something. I’ll be honest, like everyone, I watch a lot of Netflix too. "

"I usually start my day checking emails and looking at any meetings I have. There are a lot of meetings. I work on a lot of different projects and try and spend some time in my day working on those. I am working on an LCMS project which requires a lot of troubleshooting of the system. I am aiming to perform equivalent analysis using a global method. However, that’s easier said than done! Some days I don’t manage to get in the lab and others are all day on my feet. "

"Chemistry, Biology and Maths A levelsChemistry HNCChemistry BSc HonsI joined my laboratory straight after my A levels as a trainee scientist (this was before apprenticeships). I worked for a year before starting my degree. I completed my degree one day a week for 5 years. I was promoted to my current role throughout my time with the company. "