What's your job about?
I work in the research department for Alcoa where, as a team, we improve how alumina is extracted from bauxite and solve problems that arise in the process. For me, this has involved running routine sample analysis on instruments like the X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). These instruments give us information about how much alumina is in the bauxite we are feeding into the process, how much alumina is being lost in waste, how the system that is removing organic matter from the process is working, and more. The SEM is particularly interesting and allows us to see objects that are only a couple of hundred nanometres big (that’s smaller than the wavelength of light!). I have also been involved in several projects looking at areas such as measuring the stability of alumina in Bayer liquor, characterising a particular type of scale and measuring the precipitation kinetics of this scale. I am also a safety representative for my department which means I volunteer to run safety meetings and investigate any incidents (though none have occurred yet, which is good).
What's your background?
I grew up in Perth, attended school here and worked at a café here as a teenager - however, my family is from the UK. While I was at the University of Western Australia, I had the opportunity to do a semester on exchange at the University of Southampton in the UK, which is the same one that my mum completed her PhD at (also in chemistry). After I came back and finished my bachelor’s degree majoring in chemistry and science communication, I enrolled to do an honours project which investigated whether online interactive pre-lab activities could help first-year students. Then, at the end of the year, I had the option to transition into a two-year Master of Research course. During these two years, I worked at the university as a tutor and lab demonstrator which was a lot of fun - especially when one of the students created a small campfire on his bench! I chose to do a chemistry education project as I had always wanted to go into academia and become a lecturer - teaching chemistry and doing research. However, by the time I finished my masters in 2019, it was clear that even if I moved internationally, I may not be able to find a job as a lecturer. As a result, I started looking for opportunities to work in the industry for a while so that, if I couldn’t find work after doing a PhD. and post-doctoral work, I had industry experience to fall back on. Initially, I worked in an environmental analytical laboratory doing sample preparation and applied for a bunch of graduate programs, one of which was as a research scientist at Alcoa. This was definitely the job I wanted the most, so I was super excited when I found out I had been accepted.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I think it would be possible for someone with a different background to do my job. Most of the people doing my job are chemists, but not everyone. However, the kind of experience you get as a chemistry student is super helpful, specifically when it comes to analysing samples and planning experiments. The second major in science communication also is not strictly necessary, but the communication skills I learned from it have been even more helpful than I anticipated so I would highly recommend it. One thing I do think is absolutely necessary is research experience - not only because it is a job requirement but also because of the skills it develops. Project planning aims clarification, method justification, results in interpretation and working out future directions for the project are all skills I frequently rely on.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is learning how the people I work with have solved problems in the past and what challenges they are currently working on. It is inspiring to see how they have applied the theoretical knowledge to make a real change and it is very cool to be able to share my ideas with them and get their feedback to help me develop and refine those ideas.
What are the limitations of your job?
One thing I think someone considering any job in research should be aware of is that you need a high tolerance for frustration and failure. Even the best plans do not often work the way you expect them to the first time, so persistence is key. It is also a job where there is an expectation that you will occasionally work overtime if there is an urgent problem. The final thing I think it would be worth considering is that the people you work with are experts in their fields with ridiculously strong work ethics. This is great but you definitely feel your lack of experience as a new starter and it is an industry where it takes a long time to develop the necessary depth of knowledge. This means it is a job that is better suited to people who are interested in sticking around long-term.
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