A process technician supervises the manufacturing process in the pharmaceutical, chemical, or agricultural industries. To work as a process technician, you must be meticulous and computer savvy. Working as a process technician will require some formal education, and participating in an internship will allow you to gain practical work experience before becoming a process technician. You could work in the biotechnology or chemical processing industries after receiving sufficient education and on-the-job training.
You must have certain personal qualities, such as organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail, to work as a process technician. As they go about their daily tasks, these professionals are responsible for maintaining product quality, sterility, and plant safety. You’ll also need strong critical thinking skills to quickly troubleshoot issues, as well as a basic understanding of electronics to operate various types of processing equipment with ease. To keep detailed records of various processes, you must also be computer literate.
To work as a process technician, you’ll typically need an associate’s degree in applied science. Many community colleges and technical institutes offer degree programs in biotechnical fields like pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and chemical manufacturing. Although an associate’s degree is sufficient for an entry-level position, you may want to consider pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in a subject such as biochemistry, biopharmaceutical science, or microbiology to improve your job prospects. To ensure job placement and a successful career, the college you attend must be accredited by a well-known organization such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Before you can become a process technician, you’ll need to get some practical work experience in addition to your formal education. Many college training programs allow you to do an internship while earning your degree, which gives you the chance to put your classroom training into practice and learn new skills. You will gain hands-on experience with the actual machinery used during various manufacturing processes during this training. An internship can significantly improve your job prospects by providing practical work experience.
Seek employment in the biotechnology field once you’ve completed your formal education and internship. The pharmaceutical and biomedical industries employ many process technicians, while agricultural and chemical companies employ others. Cleaning, sterilizing, and maintaining processing equipment may be assigned to you as an entry-level technician, but once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll be able to process and package a variety of products for distribution.