THE LIFE SCIENCES
Biology is the common term used for the life sciences. It includes the study of plant life, animal life, and microscopic life. Many applications of the life sciences were discussed in other chapters of this book, particularly in the discussions of agriculture, horticulture, and drugs. Other forms of life science are applied in the medical technology careers that combine knowledge of the human body with technical expertise in operating machinery and equipment.
There are many branches of biology such as botany, zoology, or genetics. The list can be broken down into classifications and sub-classifications and sub sub-classifications. But a general preparation in biology technology will equip the technician to adapt his or her skills and knowledge of general biology and scientific principles to fit the specialty where technicians might find work.
Biology Technician
The biology technician can find work in a variety of industries from a sterile laboratory to a farmyard. The technician's main duties are testing and analyzing biological organisms or tissues from organisms. Their work might involve the testing of a new medicine, diagnosing a patient's illness, or finding a higher quality seed.
The biological technician's job will most often involve work primarily in a laboratory. Thus keeping a clean lab, following testing and analysis procedures precisely, having good observational skills, and knowing how to operate laboratory equipment, record results accurately, and interpret changes in materials being analyzed or tested are all critical skills.
The biological aide job description below is written specifically for agriculture. The basic job description could be the same for many industries, substituting other content for the agricultural specific items.
Biological aides (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) assist research workers in experiments in biology, bacteriology, plant pathology, mycology, and related agricultural sciences. They set up laboratory and field equipment, perform routine tests, and keep records of plant growth.
Biology specimen technicians (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) study experimental plots, greenhouse activity, use of insecticides, beehives, and other agricultural experimentation. They clean and maintain field and laboratory equipment. Biology specimen technicians prepare and embed in plastic, biological specimens of plant and animal life for use as instructional aides. They select plant or animal specimens in a prepared or dried state; dissect animals and clean all matter from skeletal structures; and prepare slices or cross-sections of small animals, embryos, or animal organs such as glands, kidneys, hearts, or eyes. They also select, trim, and stain a variety of stalks, flowers, and leaves to show plant structure and systems; select different stains to clearly indicate the support structure, circulatory system, or other feature of a plant or animal; assemble and position components of specimens in molds using pins and holding devices; and mix poly lite plastic or other materials and complete embedding by varied molding techniques. Biology specimen technicians work with plants, animals, mollusks, insects, and other classes of plants and animals; identify type and age of specimen, date of preparation, and type of embedding material used; may operate incubator to grow chicken eggs for embryo specimens; and may prepare ecological kits that demonstrate polluting conditions in water, soil, or air.
Mortuary Science Technicians
Most mortuary science technicians are employed by funeral homes under the supervision of professional morticians. Funeral homes vary widely in the size and scope of their operations. Although most originated as family owned and operated single site establishments, many have expanded to include multiple sites and are run as corporations rather than as family businesses. Some funeral homes service fewer than 100 clients yearly; some service thousands.
In the case of the smaller, family owned, single establishments, technicians usually work under the owner and perform a multitude of tasks, helping out as needed. In the case of large establishments, technicians have the opportunity to specialize and may find themselves devoting their career to a specific area, such as embalming. In this case they usually will advance into management positions. This requires developing a complement of management skills from responsibility for training new technicians or apprentices to supervising technicians and developing work schedules.
Mortuary technicians, depending on the size of the establishment, may be required to interact with a variety of other individuals both inside and outside of the funeral home. In some cases technicians may be responsible for transporting bodies and will interact with hospital personnel. In other cases technicians may become a part of the "sales" or "service" teams and may be required to interact with family members of the deceased. This is often the case in smaller funeral homes and will certainly be the case if the technician advances to the point of owning or directing a funeral home.
Mortuary and funeral services are governed by very strict laws relating primarily to matters of sanitation and require very skilled technicians. However, as this is also a very delicate and personal experience for the relations of the deceased, it requires very skilled personal interactions as well.
The beginning technician licensed in mortuary science can earn from $16,000 to $18,000. With five years of experience, that usually increases to $25,000 to $30,000. Those who go on to own their own funeral parlor can expect to earn from $40,000 to $60,000.
A higher level job description, for the experienced funeral director, from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State Civil Service Commission reads:
Mortuary Inspector
Employees conduct field inspections of funeral homes for compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations. They check licenses for current-ness and accuracy; inspect preparation rooms to insure the required equipment and materials are present and adequate, and that proper sanitary/ safety procedures are observed; conduct spot audits of pre-needs account contracts and funds; and complete inspection forms noting any violations. They may also assist in special investigations into alleged violations, and may testify at licensing board hearings or appear as witnesses for the state in formal court proceedings.
This particular job, in contrast to working for a funeral parlor, requires a lot of travel, some overnight. It also requires ten years as a licensed funeral director. The salary range for this position could be between $20,000 and $33,000, depending on the starting pay step.
Educational Qualifications
Mortuary science technicians receive their technical training through accredited mortuary science programs. At this time there are about thirty nine such programs in the United States. The programs can be found at specialized institutes of mortuary science as well as some colleges and universities.
In selecting a program, the first criteria is that the schools be accredited by The American Board of Funeral Service Education, Inc. They should also be approved by the Board of Funeral Directors in the state in which they are located. There are some programs designed to meet the criteria for licensing in all fifty states.
Institutes of mortuary science offer specialized training for the variety of jobs found within the funeral industry. Some of these schools, like other specialized training schools, may have cooperative relationships with fully accredited four year colleges or universities. These enable students to easily obtain a two or four year degree, if desired, as all of the credits in the mortuary program would be accepted by the college. Students attempting to transfer credits without these formal relationships between programs may have more difficulty. In some cases credits may not be accepted.
Diploma programs can qualify a technician for an entry level position. The associate's degree program qualifies an individual to operate a funeral home as well as work within one. The four year degree adds more intense business, liberal arts, and general educational credits to the qualifications.
It is very important to note that licenses are required to become an embalmer or funeral director. States regulate the funeral industry very closely and have strict requirements. However, the requirements vary from state to state. Embalmers and directors must be careful to meet the requirements of the state in which they want to practice. These requirements vary widely. However, they have two primary components in common: passing the license test and completing an apprenticeship program.
Some states, for instance, require only a high school diploma and a diploma (typically of a twelve month program) from an accredited school of mortuary science. Others require an associate degree, which is typically a two year program. Where apprenticeships are not offered as part of the program of study, the candidate has to complete an internship, which is done after completing the program but before taking the test for licensure.
By the time the twelve month program has been completed, students would have covered most of the technical and scientific knowledge and courses. They also would have completed many related business and psychologically oriented studies. The program is designed to develop a well rounded practitioner. Students that complete the certificate program without the clinical practices or field experiences have to complete internships before becoming licensed. Often internships and practicum can be paying positions, similar to apprenticeships. They also are often stepping stones to full time jobs.
Note below that the two year or associate's degree adds more of the management, business, and psychological dimensions to the program. This gives the technician the skill and knowledge to open his or her own funeral service, a realistic goal that many technicians have.
Funeral Service Management Associate in Specialized Business Degree Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science
This program includes all of the trimester courses listed above and the trimester courses listed below. In this particular example, you would enroll earlier in the year than for the twelve month program to complete trimester A. You would then enroll for an additional trimester, following the twelve month program.
Specialized Professional Studies
Funeral Service, Bachelor of Science Degree
Capstone Program
The programs offered in conjunction with technical training programs that build the two year degree into the four year degree are generally called capstone programs. This sample program is offered by a four year college to students completing the associate degree at the Institute of Mortuary Science, whose program is outlined above. In cases where the transfer of credits is formalized into a program by the institutions, the transition from one degree to the other is very smooth. Where students attempt to accomplish this on their own, they may have more difficulty transferring credits and making the programs mesh exactly.
In this particular case, the student may have completed the two year associate's program at the four year college as well. In all cases, however, the professional core of mortuary science courses would have been completed at the specialized institute of mortuary science.
The advantage of this kind of program is that the student is qualified to work as a professional after taking the diploma courses. The other courses can be obtained if desired as the student works.
Professional embalmers may be self employed, working in a type of freelance capacity. They work for a variety of funeral homes, as their services are needed.
MATERIALS SCIENCE AND METALLURGY
Materials science has grown out of the field of metallurgy. Metallurgy began as the study of metals. As new materials were developed for use in industry and manufacturing, materials science evolved to encompass the study of metals and plastics, ceramics, glass, semiconductors, and virtually any material that is used in creating a product, a structure, or piece of equipment.
Materials science is concerned with finding appropriate materials for a given job. The materials must hold up under the conditions of manufacturing and use. Materials technicians are involved in the analysis and testing of materials from the stages of research to finding the best materials for a product to testing materials over many years during their use. Materials technicians may work in laboratories or on-site collecting and analyzing data. They write reports of their findings for use by scientists and engineers. Their work is closely associated with quality assurance, and they may be an important part of quality assurance and quality control teams.
There are many specialties within materials science, including metallurgical technicians, test technicians, foundry technicians, X-ray technicians, spectrographic technicians, and heat treatment technicians. The sample description below covers most phases of these specialties. Keep in mind that particular jobs may emphasize one set of skills, with little emphasis on others.
Metallurgical technicians (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) examine and test metal samples to determine their crystal structure, porosity, homogeneity, and other characteristics; and they polish or etch metal specimens and photograph samples using a photomicroscope or direct the photography personnel to take, develop, and mount photomicrographs. These technicians examine metal and alloy samples with X-ray, gamma-ray, and magnetic-flux equipment to detect internal fractures, impurities, and similar defects in metals; they also test samples in pressure devices, hot acid baths, and other apparatuses to determine strength, hardness, elasticity, toughness, or other properties of metal.
In contrast, the materials technician can handle and analyze a variety of metallic and nonmetallic materials as well as minerals, synthetics, and chemicals. Consider the following job descriptions from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State Civil Service Commission:
Materials technicians 1 perform routine duties following well-established procedures. Duties may include materials or soil testing and analysis, material placement inspection, sampling of construction and maintenance materials or soils, evaluation of plant production capabilities, limited electrical and mechanical equipment repair, calculation of data, and preparation of reports.
Materials technicians 2 perform advanced technical duties that may require the application of some complex or somewhat varied procedures to provide valid results. Employees at this level perform duties in the same functional areas as shown above for materials technician 1. They may also serve as lead workers over lower-level technicians, assisting in routine duties. During periods of reduced maintenance and construction activity, employees may be assigned to work in such areas as traffic surveys, bridge surveys, and snow removal.
The requirements for these jobs are one year of experience as a technical assistant or in testing of materials used in highway, bridge, building, hydraulic, or similar construction projects and graduation from high school or an associate's degree in civil engineering technology or a closely related field.
The materials and metallurgy technicians are very well paid. An entry-level technician starts at about $18,000. With experience, the salary range is $20,000 to $30,000, averaging at about $26,500. An experienced, senior technician can make from $30,000 to $50,000.
In 1995 in Pennsylvania the starting salary for the materials 1 technician position described above was $20,812. The beginning pay step for the more experienced materials technician 2 was $23,511.
Plastics technicians are also well paid. An entry-level plastics technician makes from $14,000 to $18,000. Technicians who advance to supervisory positions earn from $30,000 to $40,000. Specialists such as mold makers and tool and die makers earn from $30,000 to $50,000. Sales representatives' average earnings are about $20,000.
Nondestructive Testing
Nondestructive testing is the testing of manufactured materials for flaws, defects, or failure without dismantling, cutting, or destroying them in the process. NDT personnel work in all manufacturing industries, in a monitoring role, in the oil transmission field, in the nuclear power field, in transportation, in testing laboratories, and in government and quality control agencies.
Nondestructive testers (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) conduct radiographic, penetrant, ultrasonic, and magnetic particle tests on metal parts to determine if the parts meet nondestructive specifications. They review test orders to determine the type of test required, test procedures to follow, and part acceptability criteria; apply agents, such as cleaners, penetrants, developers, and couplant (light oil that acts as medium) to parts or heat parts in an oven to prepare parts for testing; and determine test equipment settings according to type of metal, thickness, distance from test equipment, and related variables, using standard formulas. In addition, nondestructive testers calibrate test equipment such as magnetic particle, X-ray, and ultrasonic contact machines to standard settings, following manual instructions; set up equipment to perform tests and conduct tests on parts following procedures established for specific tests performed; examine surface treated materials during penetrant and magnetic particle tests to locate and identify cracks or other defects using a black light; and move a transducer probe across a part when conducting ultrasonic tests and observe the cathode-ray-tube screen to detect and locate discontinuities in metal structure. Finally, they examine the film when conducting radiographic tests to locate structural or welding flaws; mark tested parts to indicate defective areas; evaluate test results against designated standards, utilizing knowledge of metals and testing experience; and prepare reports outlining findings and conclusions. They may perform similar tests on nonmetallic parts or structures.
METEOROLOGY
Meteorology is the study of weather. Technicians analyze weather conditions using standard weather instruments and, based on their findings, prepare reports for dissemination. Although they report all weather conditions, most of their work is conducted inside using computerized reporting from instruments located at various sites within the territory of their observations.
Meteorological technicians, also called weather observers (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles), observe and record weather conditions for use in forecasting. Periodically they observe general weather, sky, and visibility conditions and read weather instruments including thermometers, barometers, and hygrometers to ascertain elements such as temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind velocity, and precipitation; transmit and receive weather data from other stations over teletype machines; and may collect upper air data on temperature, humidity, and winds using weather balloons and radio-sonic equipment. Meteorological technicians also may conduct pilot briefings.
Photo-Optics technicians (from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles) set up and operate photo-optical instrumentation to record and photograph data for scientific and engineering projects. They operate and calibrate photo-optical equipment according to formalized procedures, maintenance manuals, and schematic diagrams; operate test equipment and perform analysis of data for engineering and scientific personnel; may install and calibrate optical and photographic data collection equipment in missiles, aircraft, weaponry, weather or communication satellites, underwater devices, or other installations; may evaluate the adequacy of data obtained to determine the need for future changes in instrumentation; and may modify the existing equipment and participate in planning and testing modified equipment and instrumentation procedures.
Radiologic technicians perform a variety of jobs, depending upon their specific employment. In all cases their jobs involve the use or analysis of radiation. Radiographers conduct tests of materials using X-rays, as in nondestructive testing. Many are also employed monitoring levels of radiation in nuclear power plants and other locations where potential human exposure to radiation is a risk. Another form of radiologic technician is the isotope production technician. These technicians produce radioactive materials for use in industrial, medical, and other applications. Specialists in handling radioactive materials via remote control are called "hot cell" technicians. They manipulate, test, and package the radioactive materials via remote controlled "slave manipulators," which are mechanical devices enclosed in radiation shielding materials, called the hot cell, with the radioactive materials. All of these technicians use complex equipment to measure radiation and manipulate radioactive materials in such a way that it is safe for them as well as the environment. They are required to have high skill levels.
Radiologic technicians are highly trained and well paid. An entry level radiologic technician can earn from $16,000 to $20,000. Experienced technicians average from $22,000 to $30,000. Finally senior technicians earn from $37,000 to $50,000.
Laser technicians operate, repair, and maintain laser equipment in a wide variety of industrial and service applications. There are many types of laser, and they have found widespread application in surgery, in nondestructive materials testing, in manufacturing, and in building computers and microprocessors. Lasers, because of their precision and concentration of energy, have found particular use in surgical cutting or in cutting and drilling metals, electronic components, and fabric in clothing manufacture. New applications of lasers in communications have revolutionized information transmission and storage. Laser technology plays an important role in space projects and military applications. Laser technicians are required to have a two year technical degree because their work is very demanding and precise and the equipment is very complex.
Technicians can find exciting job opportunities in any of the sciences. Each science has its own research questions that beg to be answered. Each science has its own areas of applications where scientists, engineers, and technicians work finding new products, new uses for the knowledge of their science, and new questions to ask and try to answer. The life and physical sciences are used to find knowledge, new and better processes, and new tools to make all our lives better. The sciences are used in all of the industries discussed in the chapters of this book.
Finding the questions that interest you most, the ways of answering them that makes the most sense to you, and the problems that you think need to be solved will help you find a science that you can apply to an exciting and rewarding career in science technology.
Occupational Skill Standards Project: Business and Education Standards Program, United States Department of Education and Employment and Training Administration, United States Department of Labor, 1994.
