What I do

Achilles Therapeutics specialises in personalised cancer treatments. It is an up-and-coming field of medicine where we make treatments specifically tailored to a person who has cancer, designed to attack only the cancer cells and not harm the patient’s normal cells.

I am currently in the Lab Management team; we look after all of the labs. For instance, we help with waste removal, managing stock, equipment maintenance, and health & safety – we are the first people that people call on.

Gloved hand pulling a pipette out of a glass bottle

How I became a technician

I did A-level Chemistry, Physics, Maths, and Computer Science. I didn’t quite get the results I wanted but it didn’t matter too much as I didn’t want to go to university as it was a lot of money. For me, I wanted to go via the technical route as I think you learn a lot more. I was looking for Level 5 but there weren't that many when I was looking so I did a Level 3 Lab Technician qualification and I am really glad I did. I did it at a Plant Science Lab with the University of Cambridge and it was a really good learning experience.

Covid hit part way through my apprenticeship and I had to take on a lot more responsibility - I learnt to make decisions for myself. At the end of my Level 3, I decided to look for a Level 5 and that is how I ended up at Achilles. I started at Achilles in 2020. I am now doing a degree in Applied Bioscience with Kent University. It is all remote apart from one week a year when you do practical skills. It’s three years to get a Foundation degree and you can then do another 18 months to get Level 6 (a full Bachelor’s degree).

A typical day in my working life

I work from 9 until 5.30 every day. I check emails and Teams when I get in. I have to manually monitor the temperature for some equipment, so I do that first and check that nothing is out of range. I then start the rest of my tasks for the day. It may be stock-taking, helping with equipment cleaning or an engineer visit, or even looking after documentation. There is a wide range of tasks involved in this job! I also check deliveries, sign them in, and make sure everything is accounted for.

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

I really like the people I work with. I am doing a bit more of the science now and going into the lab and learning what they are actually doing and how it relates back to the patients.

The advice I would give to a young person

I would say don’t feel pressured to go to university just because your school thinks that’s what you should do. There are so many other pathways. Apprenticeships are great. You are paid to work and earn a degree if you decide to go for a Level 6 apprenticeship. You learn so many soft skills; like how to communicate with people, time management - all those life skills which are useful.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

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Meet other technicians

Read more real life technicians stories, see what they do every day, and how they got started.