There is also an intermediate situation, where the technician teaches the
graduate student all the techniques necessary for the project, then provides
constant help and guidance at every stage, including interpretation of the
results. Of course, this requires that the technician knows completely all
the techniques that might be used in that lab, not just those any individual
student might need. One must also be able to develop new procedures in order
to teach them. It is satisfying work which does allow for real life outside
the lab, so long as one is not interested in money or kudos.

Lesley Weston.


> From: Cheryl Crowder <ccrowder@mail.vetmed.lsu.edu>
> Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 08:05:07 -0500
> To: histonet <histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
> Subject: What's in a name
> 
> Having read the opinions of several others on the technician versus
> researcher and their status in the world, I must venture my own opinion.
> I have worked in academia for years, and clinical medicine before that.
> In all this time I have found that it is not the degrees that a person
> wears but the person wearing them that makes the difference
> In many institutions, the graduate student (whether masters or
> doctoral candidate) gets a bright idea from the major professor, the two
> of them come up with a game plan and then tell a tech to do the work.
> The graduate student writes the material, gets the degree and really
> knows nothing about what went into the research.
> I am glad to say that this is not true at this institution, where
> all graduate students must do their own work.  However my point is - one
> cannot state that the wearer of the degrees knows it all and techs know
> nothing.   More often than not, it's the tech who knows it all, but is
> not driven to do research forever.  He/she prefers to have a life away
> from work.
> I remember being awed by the number of MD, DVM, and PhD around me
> when I started this job.  Then I realized they all put their pants on the
> same as I.  Then I was told that a BS was for Bull s***, MS for more S***
> and PhD for piles higher and deeper.  This is very true.
> Cheryl Crowder, BA, HTL(ASCP)
> Chief Technologist
> Department of Pathobiological Sciences
> School of Veterinary Medicine
> Louisiana State University
> Baton Rouge, LA  70803
> 
> (225) 578-9734
> FAX  (225) 578-9720
> 
> 
>