Apprenticeship as a physics laboratory technician
With brains, multimeter and screwdriver << David, physics lab technician at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF
How did you get into your profession?
I actually entered this profession as a career changer. I first did a commercial apprenticeship, but then wanted something more practical. I was already very interested in technology and electrical engineering at school, so I looked around and the Fraunhofer Institute offered an apprenticeship as a physics laboratory technician that very year.
Which school subjects were you particularly good at?
I was particularly good at maths, physics and biology. That helped me a lot here, of course. In the second year of my apprenticeship, I added electronics. As this was exactly what I was interested in, I was even able to complete the apprenticeship early at the end of the third year.
How does the training as a physics laboratory technician actually work?
It’s a dual training programme, which means you have vocational school with a theoretical part and practical training spread over the year in blocks. The practical part was taught by the Jena training centre in courses, i.e. chemical and physical laboratory work, electronics and basic training in metalworking. After two years of vocational training, I joined the Fraunhofer IOF, got to know the various departments and gained a good overview of the wide range of tasks here at the institute.
And where do you work every day?
After I finished my apprenticeship, a new working group was opened that needed a technician and that was me. At the moment I’m in charge of two nuclear waste disposal plants, and a third will be added next year. My tasks include maintenance and servicing, process control, measuring the samples and analysing them graphically. For each new project, the test facilities have to be adapted, a new chamber design developed, the high-vacuum pump, filters, valves and even the waste gas cleaning system optimised. That’s quite complex. But that’s exactly what I enjoy, because there are always new challenges and problems that need to be solved with brains, a multimeter and a screwdriver.
Facts and figures about training as a physics laboratory technician
- Duration of the apprenticeship: 3.5 years
- Requirements: at least a good secondary school leaving certificate
- Apprenticeship salary: between € 830 and € 1,100
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