There is a common misconception about the LIMS or Laboratory IT space I often find when speaking to prospective candidates. Most believe that they need to have a background in IT or have 'hard' IT skills like programming/testing to apply for a LIMS role. In reality however, this is not usually the case for any LIMS Administrator or LIMS Business Analyst role. In fact, there are so many fundamental skills, knowledges, and experiences that make the transition from Scientist to LIMS Specialist a natural progression.
What Could Your LIMS Specialist Career Path Look Like?
The route from Scientist to LIMS Specialist is quite a common one. As a niche recruiter, I speak to numerous candidates in the LIMS market that have a wide-ranging variety of career paths. For example, some find themselves seconded onto a LIMS project implementation as a key user or administrator. Moving from a laboratory environment to a more technology-centred LIMS environment most develop the ‘IT’ skills whilst in their new role.
What makes it such a unique space to recruit into is that more often than not, scientific domain experience and functional knowledge are far more relevant to many roles outside of core development and technical testing.
When a client is looking to hire a LIMS Specialist, they usually require most prospective candidates to have a scientific degree; usually in Chemistry or Biology. Possessing an understanding of scientific terminology and workflows by virtue of a strong scientific background makes you highly sought-after by clients, as this knowledge is often missing with traditional IT recruits. Being an experienced scientist, you already have the fundamental foundation of domain knowledge and skills needed for a LIMS based role.
Where Do We Come Into This?
If you're an experienced scientist who would be interested in having a conversation about the best route into a LIMS/IT focused role, be sure to get in contact. You can get in touch with me via LinkedIn (Chantelle Cox), email at chantelle.cox@itworkshealth.co.uk or phone 01772 278050.
