microbiology technician

receiver

chemistry technician

laboratory technician

microbiologist

Mérieux NutriSciences

The job is tolerable if you manage your expectations for the position. 

For ~17-22 dollars an hour, you can log, process, pipette, or count plates derived from food samples. There is an expectation to work longer than a typical shift due to the nature of incubating biological samples.  Many people average working 9-10 hours a day. Some departments start earlier in the day, and some start later. Depending on your shift and department, you can find yourself working typically until 9:30-10:30PM. But later nights are not too uncommon.  This is including an hour lunch and half an hour break. The work itself is fine, but unsustainable for long periods of time at late hours. The workload is overbearing and unpredictable. 

The pay does not adequately compensate for the labour done, and increased responsibilities does not correlate with increased pay. One of the supervisors is on maternity leave, and everyone has to pick up the workload left behind. Of course this means more work and later and longer hours at the same pay. Another person in a managerial position passed away, and although we mourn for their loss, all of their responsibilities fell onto a single person with nearly not enough financial compensation, let alone hiring anyone else to fill in the gaps of the workload. If their work is supposedly so valuable, then how is it fair to pay someone else much less for the same work? 

There are not enough people to deal with this workload, nor is there sufficient space to accommodate more employees. This means that if one or more people call in sick, there is a struggle filling in the gaps of labour and usually results in a much later time to leave.  I believe workplaces should hire and schedule for redundancy; having more people on the floor than expected to cover for any potential sick calls. Since everyone is covering as best they can for each other, there is little room for professional growth or even changes in the lab. I often hear that training can't be done because they're too busy that day, when it's busy everyday. 

Again, this is very unsustainable. There are too many logistical barriers to alleviate the workload, yet the workload remains unbearable for the company. This shows in the low retention rate in certain departments. If the work is too much for the current labour force, why accept it? The Montreal location closed down so the Markham location took up a lot of their clients. Why is there a significant increase in workload but no financial or increased labour compensation? 

There are a handful of people in managerial positions that are very unprofessional. Unrealistic expectations of time, sarcasm + passive-aggressiveness, lack of communication & leadership skills contributed to a toxic and hostile work environment. On top of the unrealistic work expectations, morale is lowered even further by unkind and unfounded criticism that's often told in bad faith. There is little room for error. 

The company culture is adequate. There are events a few times a year that have catered free lunches. Fellow colleagues can be very friendly and close knit. There is room to create connections and bonds. 

This is a good place to learn basic skills in a lab and gain knowledge about how a lab works. Logistics of samples, aseptic preparation, incubation, pipetting, diagnostics of plates are all valuable skills that one can learn for a first job. 

I would give this place 0 stars if I could. You start at a specific time and don’t know what time you’ll leave due to MANDATORY overtime. Management is terrible and manipulative. Very simple work done yet pay is terrible. Better off working retail. No room for advancement. Very cheap company, they waited for an employee to faint from heat exhaustion to get ONLY ONE AC. Managers will talk about you behind your back and take advantage of you working late while they leave early. Terrible working conditions, all the employees sweat due to no ventilation. DO NOT WORK HERE, THIS IS A WARNING. 

the people are amazing
but its very phisically demanding, repetitive work that can cause injuries
there is no performance bonus because of Union
they pay all the extra hours and late uber rides, no work life balance
time schedule for the lab is very demanding, rotation weekends
every 2 or 3 months there is a pizza party or sandwich or ice cream
they give a nice christmas gift every year

Work life balance was very challenging in the microbiology department. You are expected to work weekends, time off is sometime denied, was a challenge requesting to leave early and work very late nights. The training program in Micro was very good and the people in micro were a pleasure to work with.
 
The chemistry department had much better work life balance. Hard department to move  up in and training was very poor.

Very low pay, equivalent to training and education required to do the job. 
Very high workloads, requires almost 2-3 hours overtime everyday.
Very slow rate of training. Older folks, and employees who have stuck around for over 15 years, are the only ones able to work in the more desirable and useful departments.
Management seems to not care whatsoever. Profit seems to be the only goal.
Overall, terrible place to work.

Good starting job to add a line to your resume. Sparse opportunities for growth, very poor training system, everyone is overworked and genuinely unhappy

A great place to work at for an entry level job. They spend a lot of time training you to develop your laboratory techniques and skills. They also let you think of ways on working more efficiently. However, there is OT almost every single day and will tell you to work faster if you are working too slow.

You will be in stress at all times. Company does not care about your physical or mental health. Working hours are uncertain.
People usually leave the job after 2-3 months. You can see for yourself. 

The job itself is very thorough and enjoyable. The hours were sometimes very unpredictable however in certain departments the hours were regular. The training was thorough and it got you ready for the work you will be doing independently.

If you badly need a year of experience then MSXN is fine. If you are any further in your career it is not a good option. Very little money is invested in the equipment or the staff.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Microbiology technician 31 salaries reported	$19.72 per hour
Receiver 21 salaries reported	$19.45 per hour
Chemistry technician 10 salaries reported	$19.80 per hour
Laboratory technician 10 salaries reported	$20.89 per hour
Microbiologist 10 salaries reported	$20.80 per hour

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