Samuel Bowen

Responsibilities

Micro Lab Technician performs microbiological and chemical analysis on the finished product, raw materials, processing, and environmental samples from manufacturing plants. They check for good manufacturing practices and standard operation producers. Cover about six lines in the lab to perform different tests on products.

Accomplishments

Knowing that I was able to provide safe and quality desserts to millions of people.

Learning experience

This job gave me many opportunities to develop and create professional relationships and skills. I learned many different skills, but the ones that are the most important are speaking up if something is wrong, not taking shortcuts, and how to manage my time. As a lab technician, I was dealing with an operator that had up to thirty years of experience, and telling them to do something a different way did not feel right. I would always be respectful and help out when I could, but commanding someone who knows much more than me is intimidating. This job comes with a lot of power and responsibility. All the information goes through the lab, and we have the power to do such down the line. I had to always be on my best game as people were waiting for me to mess up or go against the company's policy to call me a hypocrite.

What advice would you give?

I would say to get an internship in quality assurance as it will give you insight on how production and a finished product, Quality, has taught me so much. I wanted to make a career out of it, but this internship changed my mind. I loved what I did. I cannot see myself doing that job for a long time. All the skills acquired can be transferred to every part of food science.