CRITERIA FROM JOB ANALYSES FOR DEVELOPING CURRICULUMS IN CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY
By
NINA MAY SANDBERG
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UKIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF TI-IE REQUIBEMENTS FOR TI-IE DEGREE OF DOCrOR OF EDUCATION
UNIVEHSITY OF FLORIDA HJGS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In paraphrase of Sir Winston Churchill, never has so few as one owed so much to so many:
To Dr. Douglas E. Scates for help with the initial plan of the study;
To my advisory committee: Dr. Luther A. Arnold, Dr. N. Eldred
Bingham, Dr. Robert L. Curran, Dr. Edwin L. Kurth, and Dr. Harry H.
Sisler, who have been kindly critical, enthusiastically supportive, and genuinely interested;
To my col leagues at Rochester Institute of Technology who not only provided the spur of ambition but also supported me during the development and conclusion of the study;
To the hundreds of individual members of the chemical industry who added time and effort to their regular duties in contributing the data upon which this study is based;
To Mrs. Frankie Hammond who added speed and sparkle to the dull business of preparing the manuscript;
To my family and friends for lighting the days by the quality of their love, their principles, and their vision. ' To my beloved chairman, Dr. N. Eldred Bingham, for painstaking patience above and beyond the call of duty.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... ii
LI ST OF TABLES...... V
CHAPTER
I. THE NATURE OF THE STUDY ...... Introduction...... l The Problem...... 5 Purposes of the Study...... 6 Limitations of the Study...... 7
I I . RELATED LITERATURE...... 8 Job Analysis...... 8 Related Studies...... 9
11 I. THE PROCEDURE...... 14 Overview...... 14 Sources of the Job Descriptions ...... 14 The Initial Survey ...... 16 Development of the Summary Validation Check List ...... 17 The Fol low-Up Survey...... 20
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...... 22 The Initial Survey ...... 22 Returns ...... 22 Analysis ...... 23 Comments from Cover Letters ...... 23 General Observations ...... 24 The Fol low-Up Survey ...... 26 Sampling and Returns ...... 26 General Techniques...... 27 Interpretation of the Tally ...... 29 Discussion of the Tally ...... •...•...... 31
V. CONCLUSIONS ...... 35 Introduction ...... 35 Job Descri ptions from Job Analyses ...... •...... 36 The Apprentice Chemical Technician ...... 36 The Junior Chemical Technician ...... ••.. 38 The Senior Chemical Technician ...... 41 The Chemical Technologist ...... •...... 44
iii TAB LE OF CONT ENTS ( con t inued)
Page
CHAPTER V ( con t inued) Ev a lua tive Criter i a For Curriculums ...... L17 Gene r a l Crite rir1 . .• • .. . .•....•... .•• ...... 47 Sequential Crite ria ...... 48 Summary ...... 51
APP Elrn l X
A. CAREER OPPORTUNITY CATEGORIES ..•.... . ••••• . .•..... 55
B. FIRST LETTER OF SOLICITATION ...•...... • . .• ..•....• 56
C. SECOND LETTER OF SOLICITATION .... • ••...... •. .. • .. 58
D. FINAL TALLY SHEET FROM 328 JOB ANALYSES ...... •.. 60
E. COVER LETTER FOR VAL I DAT I ON STUDY...... • ...... • 68
F. EXPLANATION OF VALIDATION STUDY ...... • ..••... 69
G. TALLY SHEET FROM SUMMARY VALIDATION CHECK LIST •••. 71
H. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATED TIME ...... 78
BIBLIOGRAPHY. . • • • • . . • ...... • . . • • • • . . • • . • • . . • • . • • • . . . . • • • • . 82
iv LIST OF TABLES
Page
TABLE I. ESTIMATED TIMES IN HOURS FOR VARIOUS ACTIVITIES BASED ON A 40-HOUR WEEK ...... 30
V CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OF THE STUDY
Introduction
The history of the chemical industry in the United States is a long and fascinating story. Powder-making on the Delaware has been a tradition since the American Revolution. The growth of the modern chemical industry, however, is usually attributed to the demands of the first world war. In 1910 the census figures reported 16,598 chemists; by 1920 this figure had doubled. By 1964 the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that 120,000 chemists were available to American industry. In addition, there were approximately 45,000 chemical engineers, a profession little known in 1920.
Chemical education grew in pace with the demands placed on it by the growth of the chemical industry. As research opened new frontiers and manufacturing processes became more diverse, college curriculums, especially at the upper division and graduate levels, changed to ref lect the new knowledge and the new industrial demands.
Since the second world war, chemical research, development, and production have increasingly been done by the team approach, combining into a cooperative effort the skills of scientists, engineers, administrators, and technical workers. The chemical 2 technician is, according to the Manufacturing Chemists• Association,
11 a relatively new'' member of the team for whom 11 there is a steadily growing demand 11 (l l, p. 2), but the nature of his contribution appears to have become more controversial as the team approach became more common. These teams are often hierarchical with the technician somewhere in the middle of the structure. His position is best
summarized by the fol lowing chart considering several continuums and adapted from Ziol (22).
Scientist Why Head Theory Research
Engineer t
Technician
Craftsman + Laborer How Hand Practice Product ion
While the line of demarcation between the engineer and the technician is often defined by an academic degree, no easy distinction among the members of the hierarchy is possible. There does appear to be general agreement that the term technician covers many job areas requiring a broad range of experience and education, but the limits of this broad range of competence have not been clearly defined. In consequence, there are few objective bases for deciding how these technicians should be trained.
Those who view the technician as contributing a broad range of competencies suggest a level of training equivalent to the bachelor 1 s degree in chemistry or chemica l engineering. This view has merit 3 because the bachelor's degree attests to a fairly uniform level of competenc e among different colleges due to the accreditation procedures of the respective professional organizations. On the other hand, many who see the technician at the lower level of the hierarchy suggest that high school graduation can be supplemented by on-the-job training to provide the needed competencies. Finally, there is a t h ird group which takes the currently popular intermediate position. In its view, the technician exercises a relatively high level of competence, usually as the result of two years of intensive post high school training.
The nature of those two years of intensive training has been subject to considerable scrutiny in recent years. The American
Chemical Society, the Manufacturing Chemists' Association and the
President's Science Advisory Committee have al 1 undertaken studies of the curricular offerings of various institutions. With the rise of the junior colleges and the increased emphasis on vocational education, a decision as to the role of the technician and a realistic curriculum designed for his training became issues of immediate interest.
It has been common (2) to provide education in chemistry or chemical engineering through the first two years of the typical bachelors• programs, and then to award the degree of Associate in
Applied Science, presumably attesting to the student 1 s competency as a chemical technician. At this point, students are theoretically provided with two alternatives: they can continue in the bachelors• program, or they can take a position in industry. Unfortunately, 4 this type of training makes no concessions to the possibility that the work of the technician might be qualitatively different from that of the chemist, or that the technician might be required to approach his work from a different orientation. Furthermore, since such programs are in no sense terminal, only those students unwilling or unable to complete the bachelors 1 program are available to ease the technician shortage.
The tacit assumption that training appropriate for the chemist
is also appropriate for the technician is supported by occupational criteria for technician education developed by the U. S. Office of
Education (20). These criteria describe the activities performed by technicians in words implying a high level of conceptual and judgemental attainment (analyzes information, designs, develops,
interprets, plans, advises, recommends, etc.). On the other hand, the curriculum guide for technician education based on these criteria and prepared by the U. S. Office of Education frankly says of a technician:
His specific task usually is to obtain laboratory or pilot-plant test data which prove or disprove the possibility of new processes or systems proposed by scientists and engineers for developing new products or improving production methods. Under the supervision of the chemist or chemical engineer and with the assistance of skilled chemical production wor kers or laboratory assistants, the technician assembles the apparatus, and conducts the tests, makes the measurements, and records and reports the data which form the basis for decisions as to whether the new concepts are workable (19, p. 1).
This implied contrast between the occupational criteria and the
specific task of the technician is characteristic of the confusion
besetting those who must define the role and design the curriculum for
the technician. 5
In summary then, the train ing of chem ical technicians is a subject of immediate interest, and data for decision-making are in wide demand. The present study arose f rom the need (now quiescent) for this kind of decision-making data at Rochester Institute of
Technology. Its expansion to national scope represented a logical complement to the studies made by the professional and advisory committees and a realistic acknowl~dgement of the mobility of today 1 s graduates from technical institutions.
The Problem
The problem appeared to be multidimensional. There was, first of all, the question of exactly how the role of the technician might be defined by the chemical industry. Without a clear definition, the design of an appropriate curriculum for his education would seem difficult, if not impossible. Indeed, considering the lack of agree- ment among experts as to the appropriate level of training, it was entirely possible that two or more levels of competence might emerge to represent the total spectrum of skills needed by industry. If this proved to be the case, any curriculum design must provide sufficient f lexibility to meet these needs. Job analysi~ of job descriptions provided one method of approach to obtaining evidence concerning the diversity of jobs performed by technicians.
The second part of the problem arose from the unfortunate fact that job descriptions are sometimes out-of-date, or they may be vaguely stated, or they may be insufficiently de f initive of the total
range of abilities required for the particular position. Therefore, 6 before the results of the job analysis could be used for curriculum
building, their validity f irst had to be established. For this
purpose, a check 1 ist of competencies developed from the job analysis and completed by supervisors of technicians, provided a way to test
the adequacy of the initial analysis.
Thirdly, the role definition obtained from the above procedures
provided an objective basis for developing 1 ists of component skills,
knowledges and attitudes necessary for the successful accomplish- me nt of the job of chemical technician. From these lists, curriculums
suitable for the acquisition of these component skills might logically
be inferred. It was proposed to state the results of this inferential
procedure as a set of criteria for the evaluation or construction of curriculums for chemical technologists.
Finally, in view of the prestige normally accorded publications of the U. S. Office of Education, it seemed especially important
that this study develop data and criteria meaningful to the review of the 1964 publication of Chemical Technology:~ Suggested 2-Year
Post High School Curriculum (19). The use of this suggested curriculum in planning and promoting new programs of chemical tech nology in institutions of higher learning should be in accord with available knowledge of the requirements of the chemical industry.
Purposes ~ the Study
This study was proposed:
1. To determine, by job analysis, the duties of chemical technologists as defined by typical job descriptions obtained from
representatives of the chemical industry; 7
2. To va lida t e the de t e rmination of the se duties, using the opinions of profess ional chemists and engineers, by means of a check 1 ist developed from the job analysis;
3. To deve lop, by logical inference, job-based criteria for the evaluation or con s truction of curriculums for chemical technolo gis t s;
4. To provide an objective basis for evaluating and inte rpreting the curriculum proposed in the 1964 publication of the U. S. De part ment of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Education: Chemical
Technology:~ Suggested 2-Year Post High School Curriculum (19).
Limitations~ the Study
Th e focus of this study is upon the activ i ties commonly performed by chemical technicians rather than upon specialized activities peculiar to a particular segment of the chemical industry. Its application to specific local situations may wel 1 be 1 imited by this focus. In addition, the process of identi f ying and reporting significant wor ker activities from job de scriptions i nvolves a s eries of judgemental decisions which may be open to criticism.
However, it is hoped that the present study may contribute data whose value lies in the very fact that they were obtained from the particular orientation of job anlaysis. CHAPTER I I
RELATED LITERATURE
Job Analysis
The U. S. Department of Labor defines job analysis as:
the process of identifying, by observation, interview, and study, and of reporting the signif icant worker activities and requirements and the technical and env i ronmental facts of a specific job. It is the identification of the tasks which comprise the job and of the skills, knowledges, abilities, and responsibilities that are required of the worker for successful performance and that differentiate the job from all others (17, p. 3).
The technique of job analysis as a means of obtaining infor mation from which to develop training programs has been honored more by the quality of its recommendations than by its application.
Historically, the publicat ion of Charters' classic C~rriculum
Construction (4) did much to develop rational vocational programs in the fields of agriculture, home economics, trade and industry, distribution and business. The National Society for the Study of
Education recommends the use of occupational analysis as a curriculum building tool throughout both its Forty-Second Yearbook (15) and its Sixty-Fourth Yearbook (16). In the current literature, Haines calls for its application in business education (7), Drawbaugh suggests it for agricultural education (5), and Shuster proposes it for in service training of teachers (ls).
8 9
The rationa l e underlying these recommendations is succinctly stated by Drawbaugh:
Wh en com plete job analysis data are utilized to write a training course, the course is aimed at occupational training objectives rather than the traditional core of subject matter (5, p. 11).
This means, in Charters' words:
So we select to teach those things which are in use, and we select them on the basis of quant itatively counting up how frequently they are used, they appear, they are agreed upon as important, or expe rts insist that they be included (4, p. 65).
The present study emphasizes counting the frequency of usage of occupational tasks in job descriptions whereas recent related studies have been carried out by the equally val id technique of consensus among experts.
Related Studies
A 1 iterature search for related studies is fraught with frustration best described in the 1963 pub! ication Education for~
Changing World~ Work:
Research has been conspicuous by its absence in vocational education. Although a great deal has been done by the U. S. Department of Labor and others to specify and estimate the demand for trained workers, the research related to their supply is sorely lacking. Little investigation has been made of the needs for vocational educa tion and the types of services required to satisfy those needs (6, p. 207).
Since 1962 relatively few studies have been made that were not aimed at problem areas of local or regional significance. For the most l 0 part these studi es we re confined to estimating the future demand for technicians of va rious kinds, or to de termining the nature of curriculums of f e red for the training of technicians. A number of new or revi sed curriculums have been developed and some preliminary evaluations of their effectiveness have been made.
Among the significant few studies must be included one by the
American Society for Engineering Education which, in 1962, sum marized its evaluation of technical institute education in a report,
Characteri s tics~ Exc e llence~ Engineering Technology Education (10).
The results of this study have already brought about changes in professional accreditation procedures and have led to certification standards for engineering technologists at three levels of competence.
In 1963 the Manufacturing Chemists' Association completed a survey on chemical technician training in the United States (11). This work has received wide circulation in the form of a free vocational guidance pamphlet for high schools, !2_ Bright Future for You~~
Chemical Technician (12). In 1965 the American Chemical Society developed curriculum guide-] ines for chemical technology (2). These recommendations were developed from a survey of leading educators and industrialists as to their opinions of suggested contents for the curriculum. One of the findings of this study was that, in the opinion of those surveyed, the level of difficulty of the courses should be the same for the chemical technician and the chemistry transfer major, especially in the theory portions of the courses.
This fact contrasts sharply with the position held by A. J. Miller l l that student technicians may have limitations in the area of higher mathematics and abstract cognitive skills, and that they are most interested in a practical program involving practical applications of theory in the laboratory or manufacturing plant (13, p. 190).
A definitive study of national technician needs and the accompanying curriculum implications has been completed by Jacobsen
(8). Representatives of over l ,000 companies contributed their opinions about the curriculum needs of technicians by completing a check-1 ist of courses in seven areas: mathematics, chemistry, physics, metallurgy, electronics, mechanics, and general technology.
The results are stated as curriculum recommendations for 50 specific technician job titles. Those courses deemed 11 essential 11 are suggested as core courses for curriculums, while those deemed 11 advisable 11 form a cluster of possible electives. The major curricular conclusion drawn from this study was that mathematics should be emphasized in all areas of technology. For chemical technology, Jacobsen's work reveals that courses thought essential to the curriculum are algebra, logarithms, slide rule usage, general chemistry, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis and organic chemistry. Trigonometry and plane geometry were strongly advised. Other advisable courses included physical chemistry, instrumental analysis, technical writing, and the analysis of experimental data. Special positions in the
industry required other specialized courses and more rigorous train- i n g i n ma th ema t i cs ( 8 , p . 9 2 ) .
The question of mathematics training for technicians has been dealt with by Laws in Mathematical Expectations of Technicians in 12
Mich igan In dust ri es (9). His findings concerning particular ski! ls deemed 11 essential, 11 11 advisab le , 11 or "not needed 11 are detailed for the course areas of a rithmetic, algeb ra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus (found to be not needed) and a catch-al I "additional ski l ls 11
(in which the only positive member was the operation of calculating machines). Th is study, though geographically restricted, should provide valuable insights to curriculum designers in technology.
A cluster of three independent studies leads to some interesting speculation concerning the relationship between existing technological training and industrial demands on that training. In 1965, Arnold
(3) chose 53 manufacturing firms in Illinoi s and, by a card sorting technique, discovered that mechanical technicians and their employers tended to agree on what should constitute cores of study in technical post high school programs for mechanical technicians. Then, in 1966,
Mills (14) developed a 637 item checklist of electronic instructional content and discovered that employers in Washington found only 84 of those items essential to their technicians' performance. Vasek (21) carried out a similar study in 1967, sampling a six state region
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennesseel.
Using a 435 item checklist of electronic instructional content, he found that 20 percent of these items were considered required of technicians by t heir employers, 77 percent of the items were desirable, · and the remaining were thought unnecessary. He then surveyed electronic instructors with a similar instrument and found that 73 percent of the items were thought by the instructors to be taught
11 in depth 11 while only 27 percent of the items were "touched on briefly. 11 13
Th ese three studies taken together lead to an uneasy suspicion that pe rhaps the level of instruction in many technician training programs has been based on the desire for academic respectability more than on the needs of employers or students. If this is indeed the case, current research must provide evidence of sufficient power to promote change.
Th e stimulus given to research by the Vocational Education Act of 1963 through the provision of federal funds has produced a surge of activity in vocational-technical education. These projects should soon provide a wealth of objective data from which to design future programs for technician training. The present study is one of many seeking to provide such data. CHAPTER I I I
THE PROCEDURE
Overview
In order to develop job-based criteria for the evaluation of curriculums in chemical technology, job descriptions for the
position of chemical technician were solicited from the personnel departments of chemical industries throughout the United States.
The job descriptions were analyzed to obtain I ists of specific skills and attributes required for the positions. From these detailed
I ists, a summary check I ist was developed and this, in turn, was submitted to a random sample of chemical industries for validation by those who daily supervise technicians.
The job analysis provided the author with a wealth of general and specific information about the role of the technician and the almost overwhelming number of individual tasks he may be called upon to perform in the diverse areas served by the chemical industry.
It is the summary validation check 1 ist, however, which provides a manageable interpretation of the modal factors in the role and duties of the chemical technician.
Sources~ the Job Descriptions
The sources of the job descriptions were selected from the 582 chemical companies 1 isted in the 1964 Directory, "Career Opportunities"
14 15
published annually by Chemical and Engineering News (1). The editors claim:
Thi s direc tory i s a gu ide to those companies tha t emp loy s igni f icant numbers of chem i sts and chem ical engineers. It does not lis t the 8,500 firms that offer career opportunities for chemists and chemical eng inee r s . Nor does it include the many government insta ll ations, non-profit ins ti tutions, foreign based com pa ni es , or universiti es that also add to the total number of places where you can have a success ful career (1, p. 33A).
Th e use of the Directory for the purpose s of this study involved
two assumptions. The first was that compani e s which hire the most
chemists and chemical engineers in all probability will also hire
the most chemical technicians since the technicians are usually employed to assist the chemists and engineers. The second assump
tion was that the range of activities engaged in by these companies
is representative of the activities of institutions not included in
the Directory. This seemed a safe assumption because the career categories listed as 11 used 11 and 11 sought 11 by these companies is a comprehensive view of the general domain of chemistry. This 1 ist
has been included in the Appendix A.
For this study al 1 582 companies listed in the Directory were solicited for job descriptions. Rep l ies were arranged in decreasing order of size of the technical staff insofar as it was known. The descriptions supplied by the 40 largest companies (300 or more chemists and chemical engineers) were first taken for analysis. In addition, descriptions from a random selection of 40 smaller companies were included. 16
Selection in this manner appeared to be justified because the focus of the study was upon the activities commonly performed by chemical technicians rathe r than upon the special activities peculiar to a particular segment of the chemical industry. Furthermore it was weighted in favor of the companies assumed to employ the majority of the chemical technicians. This seemed to be the most logical method of assuring fair representation in the face of non-uniform distribu tion, particularly for this case in which a statistical study was not intended.
The Initial Survey
Typical job descriptions for the position of chemical technician were solicited from the personnel departments of each of the 582 companies 1 isted in the Directory. The letter of sol icita~ion defined the position in very broad terms:
His duties while variously defined, are generally conside red to require: (1) academic preparation, preferably through high school, but usually less than the bachelor's degree in chemistry or chemi cal engineering; and (2) activities, at several levels of competence and responsibility, carried out under the supervision of graduate chemists and chemical engineers.
More exp] icit definition might have tended to obscure the objective of obtaining a role definition from industry.
Job descriptions obtained in this way presumably state the formal requirements for employment in those positions within a given comp any. To this extent the descriptions state the minimum qua! ifications expected of a successful candidate for the positions by the personnel department of the company. 17
Subjecting the descriptions to job analysis involved, first of all, listing the specifically mentioned knowledge and skills and tallying the frequency of their mention in all of the job descriptions.
Not unexpectedly, many of the descriptions contained such generalities as 11 perform routine analysis 11 and 11 is responsible for care and maintainance of equipment. 11 Thus a second part of the analysis was, of necessity, adding to the tally items which were, for the most part, deductively inferred on the basis of some knowledge of the company 1 s operations and the techniques normally associated with those operations.
The tallied items were then regrouped under eight major headings:
l, Operational skills 2. Tool and mechanical skills 3. Instrumentation skills 4. Communications skills 5. Compu tat i ona l ski l l s 6. Housekeeping duties 7. Health and safety skills 8. Personal attributes.
The raw data, thus assembled, formed the basis for developing the checklist used in the follow-up survey.
Development ~ the Summary Val i da ti on Check Lis. t
It had been expected from the beginning that two or more level~ of competence among chemical technicians might emerge from the job ananlysis. As the analysis progressed, it became increasingly apparent that there was little or no uniformity in either the titles or the descriptions of the levels. Various grades of technician competency overlapped not only among companies but also within a given company. 18
Thus the analysis revealed an apparent continuum of competencies
rather than discrete levels.
To meet this problem of where to draw the 1 ines defining the
position of the chem ical t echnician, further recourse to the job
descriptions themselves became necessary. From this further inspection
it appeared that, although many grades might be required for salary
and promotion policies, four general levels of competency were
distinguishable on the bases of the nature of the work done, the
extent of the instructions given, and the amount of supervision
deemed necessary. Accordingly, for the purposes of the check 1 ist,
the following job titles and general descriptions were adopted:
I. Apprentice Technician: Does routine and semi-routine work f ollowing explicit instructions under close supervision.
I I. Junior Technician: Does routine work as assigned under limited or general supervision, and does semi-routine or complex work fol lowing explicit instructions under relatively close supervision.
I I I. Senior Technician: Does routine or semi-routine work as necessary without formal instructions or supe rvision; does complex work fol lowing gene ral instructions under general supervision; does exploratory work following exp! icit instruc tions under limited or general supervision.
IV. Chemical Technologist: Does routine, semi-routine and complex work as necessary to accomplish assigned objectives; does exploratory work fo llowing general directions with little or no formal supervision; is often encouraged to innovate after consultation with a senior scientist.
A second problem arose from the detail and complexity of the
raw data compiled from the job analysis. In particular, the items
1 isted under the major category of operational skills included alroost 19 every technique known to chemists and chemical engineers. ln order to keep the check 1 ist minimally time-consuming for those being asked to comp lete it, adoption of sub-categories under which to subsume a relatively broad range of related techniques became necessary. Such sub-categories were inferred, in part, from the chapter headings of standard texbooks and in part from the familiar ity with the language of col leagues whose experiences have been both industrial and academic. For example, the sub-category 11 tech niques of volumetric and gravimetric analysis 11 subsumed all of the items which follow:
sample collection pipetting sample preparation titrating weighing dilutions d rying f i l t ration ignition ashing washi ng volatilization extraction quantitative transfer
calibration of weights and volumetric glassware, preparation and standardization of solutions, and all specific analyses described as ''in accordance with standard procedures. 11
The sub-categories under the remaining major headings were fewer in number to begin with and had fairly uniform treatment in the original job descriptions. Thus these categories were chosen on the basis of their commonality in the descriptions.
For each major category, space was provided for an estimate of time normally devoted to those duties by technologists at each level of competence.
In its final form, the summary validation check 1 ist consisted of 140 sub-categories of knowledge, skills, and personal attributes 20 describing the broad range of duties ascribed to chemical technicians.
Check spaces were provided for the four general levels of competence and for estimates of the time normally devoted, at each level, to the activities described by the major heading. A copy of this summary validation checklist has been included in Appendix G.
The Follow-Up Survey
The sample for the follow-up survey was selected from companies on the original list in the Directory. As a result of the initial survey, some companies were known either to hire no technicians or to have discontinued their chemical operations. These were removed from the list and a random selection of 100 companies was made from those remaining.
The summary validation checklist was submitted to the research and development directors at each of the selected companies with a request that the list be completed and returned by someone who daily supervised chemical technicians in his organization.
The results of this survey were tabulated and a frequency tally was obtained for each item under the major categories. The time estimates were averaged, their range noted, and their standard deviation computed. These estimates not only provide some measure of differentiation among the duties of the four levels of technicians, but may also be useful in developing decisions about optimum train ing times for various skills within a curriculum framework.
These results were used to develop activity-based definitions of the role of the technician at the four general levels of competence. 21
They further provided the background for the developme nt of job based criteria for evaluating or constructing curriculums in chemical technology, submitted as the conclusions of this study. CHAPTER IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Initial Survey
Re turns
The initial 582 letters of solicitation were sent out in late
August of 1965 and 219 companies (37.5 percent) had sent sample job descriptions by the end of September. A second letter in October of 1965 to the remaining 363 companies solicited 61 additional
replies bringing the total response to 48 percent. Of the 280 companies which replied, 72 furnished no job descriptions. Their
reasons varied:
19 Did not engage chemical technicians
14 Required a B. s. degree of technicians
10 Were unable to furnish job descriptions
11 Were investigating use of job descriptions
18 Did not use job descriptions.
The number of job descriptions furnished by the 208 companies
ranged from to 18 for a total of 694 descriptions or an average of more than 3 per company.
The replies were arranged in order of decreasing size of the
technical staff, insofar as it was known. Large companies were
defined, for the purposes of this study, as those employing 300 or
more chemists and chemical engineers. By this definition, 40 of the
22 23 possible 53 large companies responded (75,7 percent), and their job descriptions were first selected for analysis, giving 188 descriptions of technician jobs at various levels. A further set of 140 descriptions was obtained by randomly selecting 40 of the 168 smaller companies which responded. This second set represented 7.6 percent of the
possible 529 smaller companies.
An a lysis
The replies from the large companies were analyzed in detail for
specific mention of duties and skills. Then duties and skills were
inferred from general statements on the basis of some knowledge of
the company's operations and the techniques involved. Those descrip
tions from the smaller companies were analyzed only for specific mention of duties and skills, while general statements were tallied as
such. The remaining job descriptions from companies not included in
the selection process were scanned but not anlayzed. They were found
to be very similar to those selected for analysis. The tally obtained by this process was summarized in the form of a validation check 1 ist
(see Appendix G).
Comments from Cover Letters
Some interesting general observations emerged fromthe cover letters accompanying the job descriptions although no attempt has been made to treat them formally.
1. Almost without exception the security of the job descriptions as official company documents was a matter of concern. Twelve companies requested their return while the other companies asked only that they be destroyed. This became increasingly surprising to the investigator as the study progressed because of the remarkable similarity among the de scriptions. 24
2. The letters indicated a strong interest in any project designed to increase the number of available technicians or to raise their level of competence. The general tenor of these remarks is succinctly stated in one respondent's comment: 11 Let 1 s face it there have been no applicants available with any background. 11
3. Personal character, integrity, interest, and ambition, while rarely mentioned in the job descriptions, were frequently mentioned in the letters as very important attributes for technicians.
4. The letters, in general, reiterated that minimum educational requirements for the position of chemical technician were high school graduation or its equivalent.
5. Six companies had cooperated with schools in their localities to develop curriculums in chemical technology suited to their respective needs.
6. A few letters indicated salary ranges of $400 to $650 per month for technicians at various levels. This was confirmed by a scattered few job descriptions in which the salary was quoted. In most cases, however, the salary ranges had been very carefully deleted from the descriptions.
General Observations
Every description obtained for this study began with words to the effect that the duty of the technician was to assist the chemist or engineer. Each description clearly showed that the technician was under the supervision of a chemist or engineer, and thus, by implication, the final responsibility for the work and its progress fell to the chemist or engineer. Some specific tasks were assigned for each technician. 25
However, almost every job description included a general statement
that the technician would perform other duties as requested on the
job.
It was observed that, typically, the chemical technician is a
specialist in the manipulatory operations required in research and
development. Rarely is the technician given any responsibility for
the inte rpretation of the work he does. It is only at the highest
levels that such responsibility becomes important enough to mention
in the job descriptions. It would appear that however desirable his
knowledge of chemical processes, principles, and theories may be,
his opportunity to exercise that knowledge through individual
initiative and responsibility is severely limited by the circum
scription of his duties and by the preemption of those conceptual tasks
by the chemists and engineers with whom he works.
During the analysis, an attempt was made to tally job titles,
but no pattern emerged. Titles varied widely not only among different
companies but also within a given company. The only apparent general i
zation was that the highest grade technician was either (1) a thorough
going specialist in some particular instrumentation skill such as
infrared spectroscopy or electron diffraction microscopy, or (2) an
individual with extensive experience in the laboratory and pilot plant work of the particular section to which he was attached. Such senior
technicians often had the responsibility for teaching and supervising
less able technicians.
It appeared from the job descriptions that, as a general rule,
one year of post high school education was equivalent to two years of
on-the-job experience. Technicians at the highest levels of competence 26 and res po nsibility f requ ently were expected to offer three years of coll ege tra i n ing in ad d ition to one or two years of work experience as a t echnici an.
During the analys is , it became apparent that opportunities for
advancement within a company are 1 imited only by the technician's
ambition and capacity for increased experience and education. There
is a ladder of advancement for the technician, but at the top he must
complete a bachelor's degree to move into the professional levels of
the chemists and engineers. He may, however, advance somewhat
horizontally by way of a transfer into management, sales, purchasing,
customer service, or some other area of the company 1 s operations in which
he shows interest and aptitude.
These generalizations represent information gleaned concommitant
to the search for worker activities, knowledges, and skills in the job
descriptions. M9ny of these observations were confirmed, directly or indirectly by replies to the summary validation check 1 ist.
The Follow-Up Survey
Sa mpling and Re turns
The original 1 ist of companies in the Directory, was used as a
source of the sample for the validation study. Those companies known,
as a result of the initial survey, to have discontinued their chemical
operations or to use no chemical technicians were first deleted. A
random sample of 100 companies was then selected from those companies
remaining. The distinction between large and small companies was not
preserved in the validation study because it was assumed that the
judgement of professional chemists and engineers is independent of com
pany size. 27
In mid-August of 1968, a 140 item summary validation checklist was sent to the directors of research and development at the selected companies. The cover letter requested them to have the check 1 ist completed and returned by someone in their organization who daily supervised technicians. Four levels of technician competency were defined, and the respondent was asked to check the level or levels to which, in their judgement, each item applied. They were asked to leave blank those items which they felt were not applicable to any technician. And they were asked to estimate the amount of time spent at each level on items under the major category headings.
A second mailing to encourage returns was not made because previous experience with representatives of the chemical industry had shown that an answer is either immediately forthcoming, or increasingly difficult to obtain.
Responses through the first week of September, 1968, totaled 44 and the final tally of the items is shown on the sample summary validation check list included in Appendix G.
General Techniques
The routine problems associated with any checklist were met here. There is always the question of whether the respondent understands clearly what is wanted. It was soon apparent that in some cases the respondent had checked only the minimum level at which the item applied. This had been anticipated and some items had been included to disclose this type of response. Each of the items used for this purpose is a well-known rule of practice for every worker in chemical research and development (use of standard glass ware and equipment, responsibility for himself in general housekeeping, 28 records data, responsibility for observing safe practice). Thus the minimum level response was easily identifiable in tallying the results.
A second, somewhat minor problem arose from the fact that some companies have only three grades of technician and the respondent was unwil 1 ing or unable to accomodate his responses to the four defined levels. This was especially true of those companies in which the highest level, defined as a chemical technologist, was perceived as being occupied by a chemist or chemical engineer having a bachelor's degree. These responses were tallied at the levels perceived by the respondent.
Not all companies engage in all of the operations and skills described by the check 1 ist. Consequently, not al 1 of the items were treated by the respondent. Since the focus of the study was on activities common to most technicians, the lack of response simply registered as a loss of commonality for the particular item.
Finally, chemists are notoriously helpful to their fellows and this characteristic showed itself in marginal notes and final comments which could not be included in a tally. The general content of these remarks can be summarized as follows:
1. Over half of the comments were intended to explain that the chemical technologist might well do very advanced and complex work of a specialized nature such as infrared spectroscopy. At the same time he might be virtually ignorant of other operations, techniques, and areas of work of interest to the company.
2. Approximately a third of the remarks indicated that the position defined as chemical technologist was filled, in their company, by a gradu ate chemist or chemical engineer. 29
]. A few respondents indicated that, since technicians have practically no opportunity to deviate from prescribed routines, they are best recruited by taking 11 shop 11 men and training them, on-the-job, for specific tasks. One of these respondents flatly stated that there was too much emphasis on education for technicians.
4. Two of the respondents earned the eternal gratitude of the investigator by commenting that the checklist, itself, represented a very good overview of chemical operations.
Interpretation £i.. the Tally
The time estimates obtained from respondents to the check 1 ist have been placed in Appendix H, and the informal statistics developed from these estimates are summarized in Table I. Inspection of Table reveals a range and distribution of times that permits only limited generalization. It appears that as the level of competence increases, there is an increase in the average amount of time spent in computa tional and communications activities and a decline in housekeeping responsibilities. Little difference among the levels is evident among the times spent on other activity clusters.
Two arbitrary criteria were adopted for using the tally sheet from the checklist as a basis for the conclusions of this study. The first was that 50 percent of the total responses for a given item were necessary to establish its acceptance as a common activity for a chemical technician at a given level (22 or more responses required). The second was that at least 15 percent of the technician 1 s time (slightly more than an hour a day), on the average, must be spent on activities of this type, as indicated by the major categories in Table 1. TABLE I
ESTIMATED TIMES IN HOURS FOR VARIOUS ACTIVITIES BASED ON A 40-HOUR WEEK
Senior Ch em ical Level Apprentice Junior Technic ian Technician Technician Techno logist Category m s r m s r m s r m s r
House kee ping Duties 10.6 7-7 l-30 6.7 5.7 l-25 3.4 2.5 0-l 0 l. 9 l '• 4 0-5
Specific Health and Safety Work 0.4 0.2 0-2 0.9 l. 2 0-5 l. 2 l. 5 0-5 l.O l. 4 0-5
Read ing, Writing and Group Discussion l.3 l. 5 0-8 2.0 2 .0 0-8 4. l 2.6 0-10 7.9 4.4 l-20
Ope ration of In struments 6.3 7.9 0-38 7.2 5.0 0-18 8.9 5.9 0-20 7.8 6.0 0-25
Laborato ry an d/or Pi lo t Ope rations 17. 5 8.8 0-33 18.0 8.0 0-30 15.6 8 .5 1-34 13.7 8.0 0-28
Co mputa tion l. 4 l. 9 0-8 3.0 l. 5 0-l 0 4.5 2.8 0-10 4.9 2.4 0-10
Othe r Duties as Requ ired 2.5 3-7 0-20 2.2 2. 1 0-8 2.3 l. 9 0-6 2.8 3.3 0-15
w 0 m = Th e Mean; s = The Standard Deviation; r = The Range 31
These crite ri a we re used in developing the conclusions of this study. The job descriptions which fo rm the first part of these conclusions represent a s umma ry of the data defining the role and duties of the c hem ica l t echnici an at fo ur l eve ls of competenc e as he appea rs from this study. Criteria for evaluating curriculums in chemical technology were developed concurrently. They, too, have been arranged sequentially to provide, first, minimum entry skills for the position of chemical technician, and then to develop additional knowledge and skills neces- sary for advancement through the technician levels.
Discussion~ the Tall}'.
Several features of the final tally, which has been placed in
Appendix G, seem worth emphasis here. It is fairly obvious that one of the essential characteristics of a chemical technician is his continuing development of the operational skills required in research and development. These operations should, ideally, increase in number, in complexity, and in degree of manipulatory skill. It is apparent from the item concerning manipulatory skill under the category "Personal
Attributes" that lack of such skill may be condoned at the apprentice and junior technician levels, but its possession is almost unanimously agreed upo n as characteristic of the two higher levels. The tally seems to indicate that the chemical technologist must be a master of all skills.
This should be regarded with scepticism in view of the frequency of comments indicating a specialist class of chemical technologist who may be highly skilled in a very narrow operational field but virtually ignorant of other operational areas.
At every level, more than 50 percent of the time is spent in manipulatory operations. As the level of competency increases, the 32 diversity of activities increases, usually at the expense of housekeeping duties and in favor of greater exercise of communications and computa tional ski l ls.
The individual tallies for communications skills indicate that the senior technician is the level at which most companies begin to expect some exercise of conceptual skills. This is shown by the sudden increase in the tallies for internal memos, procedures and processes, literature surveys, correspondence, and the like. Even at this level less than 50 percent of the respondents find th~se items applicable.
The chemical technologist, on the other hand, is more often expected to exercise these skills, but in most of these sub-categories, the 50 percent criterion i s just reached or only slightly exceeded. Similarly, the senior technologist participates in group (section) discussion, but other participat·ion in meetings, seminars, and customer service visits is less common. The chemical technologist is apparently much more involved in these kinds of interactions. It would seem that, although technical reading is encoutaged, few opportunities exist for using the results of that reading. This generalization is partially confirmed by the time estimates for reading, writing, and group discussion. The average just exceeds 10 percent for the senior tech nician and passes the 15 percent criterion at the level of the chemical tech no log is t.
Responses to items concerning knowledge requirements are included under the category of "Personal Attributes. 11 Broad technical knowledge is not perceived as characteristic of the technician below the level of the chemical technologist. For the senior technician, knowledge of the special chemistry of the group (section) is perceived as more 33 characteristic than sufficient knowledge to inte rpret results. This contrast seems to say that the senior technician is expected to appreciate the work that he does without necessarily demonstrating a
true und e rstanding of its implications. On the other hand, familiarity with the prope rties of common chemicals is typical of everyone but
the apprentice. The item concerning creativity gives some indication of the level at which technicians operate. Less than 40 percent of
the respondents find this item applicable to senior technicians while 68 percent find it applicable to the chemical technologist.
These figures tend to confirm the comment, mentioned earlier, that
technicians have little opportunity to deviate from prescribed
procedures.
Finally, under computational skills, it would appear that mathematics beyond the level of arithmetic and algebra are rarely
indicated below the senior technician level. Calculus and statistics
then increase in importance and, at the highest levels, other mathe matics is perceived as necessary. Both computers and desk-type
integrators must be added to the 1 ist of equipment necessary to the
training of chemical technicians. The frequency of responses for
these two categor ies indicates extensive use of these tools at the higher levels of technician competency.
In summary then, it seemed that the conclusions of this study, stated as summary job descriptions and sequential curriculum criteria, must emphasize first the attainment of manipulatory skill in common
laboratory, pilot plant, and instrumental operations. The initial
training should be accompanied by considerable exposure to descriptive 34 chemistry. Increasing knowledge and broader experience in manipu- latory techniques must be acquired for continued advancement by the technician. Theore tical constructs in chemistry and instruction in related fields such as physics, mathematics, engineering, or electronics appear to be necessary only toward the later stages of the technician's occupational growth and development. CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS
Introduction
The purposes of this study were:
l. To determine, by job analyses, the duties of chemical technologists as defined by typical job descriptions obtained from representatives of the chemical industry;
2. To validate the determination of these duties using the opinions of professional chemists and engineers;
3. To develop, by logical inference, job-based criteria for the evaluation or construction of curriculums in chemical technology;
4. To provide an objective basis for evaluating and interpreting the curriculum proposed in the 1964 publication of the U. S. Depart ment of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education: Chemical
Technology:~ Suggested 2-Year Post High School Curriculum (19).
The conclusions concerning the duties of chemical technologists are stated as composite job descriptions. These have been written for the four levels of competency disclosed by the study. They describe a progression of skills, knowledges, and responsibilities as the education and experience of the chemical technician increases.
The implications of these composite job descriptions for evaluating or constructing curriculums in chemical technology are stated as a set
35 of cri ter ia. These have been arranged sequentially from minimum occupational entry skills through increasing levels of activity and knowledge .
Job Descriptions from Job Analyses
The Apprenti ce Chemical Technician
General description
Duties. -- The duty of the apprentice chemical technician is to assist the chemist or chemical engineer by performing routine or semi-routine work fol lowing explicit instructions, either written or oral, under the close supervision of a chemist, engineer, senior technician, or chemi cal technologist.
Educational Req uiremen ts. -- Applicants for this position should have completed high school, preferably with courses in high school chemistry and in mathematics through elementary algebra.
Personal Characteristics. -- Dependability, ability to learn, ability to understand and take in structions, and ability to work well with others are important factors for success in this position.
The technician is expected to acquire a high degree of manipulative skill in the performance of his tasks.
Promotion. -- The technician shall be removed from probationary status or dismissed on the recommendation of his supervisor within a period of not less than three months nor more than six months. He shall be e ligibl e for promotion to the grade of junior chemical technician at the end of two years.
Specific task assignments
1. Uses standard glassware and laboratory equipment, automatic balances and pH meters, and physical testing machines; 37
2. Uses standard hand tools and painting and stenciling tools;
3. Determines routine physical constants such as melting point, boiling point, specific gravity, and refractive index;
4. Determines mechanical properties such as elasticity, hardness, tensile strength, stress resistance, and durability;
5. Assists in pilot plant operations involving mixing, grinding, and drying;
6. Performs most of the housekeeping duties involved in the normal work of his section, including messenger service, dishwashing, maintenance of neatness and order, routine maintenance of machines, general cleaning and washing, replenishment of chemicals and supplies, and disposal of wastes; may be called upon to assist with inventory and prepare for coffee breaks;
7. Performs other duties as requested.
Estimated time distribution
Laboratory and Pilot Plant Operations 45%
Housekeeping 25%
Operation of Instruments 15%
Other Duties 15%
Responsibility
l. To record data accurately and legibly;
2. To maintain a log book and a notebook of his activities;
3. To perform calculations correctly and accurately by substi
tution into formulas as directed;
4. To determine that the equipment which he uses is in good work-
ing order and that it checks against a standard, and to report deficiencies;
, 38
5. To insure that he understands clearly what his assignment is and how it is to be performed;
6. To perform faith f ully his portion of the housekeeping duties normally involved in the work of his section;
7, To observe strictly all safety rules and regulations, and all practices suggested by more experienced workers;
8. To develop manipulative skill in the performance of his tasks;
9. To learn from example, precept, or instruction, the techniques and skills commonly used in his section.
The Junior Chemical Technician
General description
Duties. -- The duty of the junior chemical technician is to assist the chemist or engineer by performing routine work, as assigned, under limited or general supervision; by performing semi-routine or complex work fol lowing explicit instructions under relatively close supervision by a chemist, engineer, senior technician, or chemical technologist.
Educational Requirements. -- Applicants for this position must have completed two years of post high school education in a technical area or present two years of experience as a chemical technician.
Personal Characteristics. -- Dependability, ability to learn, ability to understand and take instructions, ability to work with others, and a high degree of manipulative ski] l are necessary for suc cess in this position. The junior technician should be familiar with the properties of common chemicals. He should show initiative and be able to work alone in performing the routine tasks for which he is assigned responsibility. 39 Promotion . -- New emp loyees in this position s hall be removed
from probation or dismissed on the recommendation of their supervisor at the end of three months. Junior technicians are eligible for
promotion to the grade of senior chemical technician after a total of
six yea rs of experience as a technician or its equivalent in
education a nd experience.
Specific task assignments
l. Demonstrates proficiency in the specific task assignments of
the apprentice chemical technician;
2. Uses recorders, potentiometers, colorimeters, microscopes,
and other optical instruments; may be called upon to use some type of
spectrophotometer; should be able to check and calibrate his instru- ments;
3. Uses si mp le glass working techniques;
4. Works with copper (or similar) fittings and may be cal led
upon to do some si mp le pipe fitting or shop work requiring power saws or other cutting tools;
5. Performs qualitative inorganic analyses, gravimetric and volumetric analyses, and common or routine organic syntheses;
6. Performs vacuum manipulations, flow measurements, and mano metric measurements both in the laboratory and in the pilot plant;
]. Assists in pilot plant operations involving distillation, extraction, and filtration;
8. Assumes responsibility for the housekeeping duties, prepares and uses cleaning solution, carries out the solvation of residues, assists with inventory, and maintains the inventory records.
9. Performs other duties as requested. 40
Estimated time distribution
Labo ratory a nd Pilot Plant Operations 45 %
Ope ra tion of Instruments 20 %
Hous ekeep ing 15 %
Other Duties 20 %
Responsibi 1 i ty
1. To maintain a complete, accurate and legible notebook on his
activities;
2. To perform calculations correctly and accurately, according
to directions, and to have h is own set-ups checked by his supervisor;
3. To insure that the equipment he uses is in good working order
and is correctly calibrated, reporting deficiencies;
4. To perform routine tasks with which he is familiar, correctly, without supervision;
5. To insure that the housekeeping duties normally involved in
the work of his section are done on time, requesting internal services when necessary;
6. To maintain supplies of chemicals and equipment normally
needed by his group, requisitioning them as necessary;
7. To maintain inventory records as directed;
8. To insure that he understands clearly the nature of his
non-routine tasks and how to perform them;
9. To observe strictly all safety rules and regulations and all
safety practices suggested by more experienced workers;
10. To develop mastery of the common techniques and skills of his
section; 4 I
11. To become proficient in the use of tables, handbooks, and standard refe rences in the area in which he is working.
Th e Sen ior Chemical Technician
Genera l description
Duties. -- The duty of the senior chemical technician is to assist
the ch em ist or engineer by performing routine or semi-routine work as
necessary without formal instructions or supervision; performs
complex work following general instructions under general supervision;
performs exploratory work following explicit instructions under
1 imited or general supervision by a chemist, engineer, or chemical
technologist.
Educational Requirements. -- Applicants for this position must
have completed three years of post high school education in a technical
area , or an equivalent of six years of previous experience as a
chemical technician.
Personal Characteristics. Dependability, ability to understand
and give instructions, ability to work either alone or with others,
and a high degree of manipulatory skill are essential to this position.
The technician should be thoroughly familiar with the properties of
common chemicals and have sufficient understanding of the chemistry in
the area in which he is working to notice and interpret departures
from expected observations. He should have a record of ability to
exercise initiative and good judgement.
Promotion. -- New employees shall be removed from probation,
dismissed, demoted, or transferred on the recommendation of their
supervisor at the end of three months. Senior technicians are
eligible for promotion to the grade of chemical technologist after 42 e i gh t yea r s of exp e ri ence a s a technician or its equivalent in educa tion and expe r ience .
Speci f ic task ass ignmen t s
1. Demonstrates proficiency in the specific task assignments of the apprentice and junior technician; or, is a highly skilled operator in one of the areas 1 isted under the specialist class of chemical technologists;
2. Uses lnfrachord and other spectrophotometers, electroanalyzers, gas chromatographs, and circuit boards or control panels, performing al 1 necessary calibrations, adjustments, and minor repairs;
3. May perform complex computations requiring calculus or differential equations and the use of a computer or desk-type integrator;
4. Performs qualitative organic analysis, complex or sequential organic syntheses, and common or routine inorganic syntheses;
5. Determines physical-chemical constants such as density, viscosity, specific heat, heat of combustion, ionization potentials, standard electrode potentials, etc.;
6. Uses the techniques of heat transfer measurement in both the laboratory and pilot plant and performs pilot plant vacuum manipulations;
7. Uses techniques of turbidometry, paper chromatography, and column chromatography;
8. Assumes responsibility for inventory and for the maintenance of files as directed;
9. May be called upon to operate lathes, drill presses, and other machine tools;
10. Demonstrates thorough familiarity with all safety rules and practices;
11. Performs other duties as requested. 43
Estimated t i me d i s tribu t ion
Labo ra t ory and Pilot Pl ant Operations 40 %
0 pe ra t1. on o f I nstruments 25 °0'M
Ho usekeeping 10%
Rea ding , Writing, Group Discussion 10%
Othe r Duties 15 %
Responsibility
l. To maintain a complete, accurate, and legible notebook of his activities;
2. To perf orm rou t ine, semi-routine, and complex tasks with a high degree of manipulative skill, a critical eye for anomalies, and an appreciation of t heir value to the work of the section;
3. To insure that the equipment used by the group is in good operating condition and is correctly calibrated, making adjustments or minor repairs as necessary;
4. To contribute to the maintenance of neatness and order in the work area, requesting internal services as necessary;
5. To insure that stocks of supplies and chemicals are on hand and that special demands are met, requisitioning as necessary, and seeing that appropriate inventory records are kept ;
6. To perform computations quickly and accurately in accordance with the requirements of the work, checking his own set-ups with his supervisor;
7. To write internal me mos, procedures and processes, and i nstruction sheets for those areas in which he is especially competent;
8. To keep abreast of developments in his f ield and within his comp any by reading available information and participating in discussions within his group; 44
9. To learn new techniques and procedures applicable to his area of work;
10. To develop a thorough understanding of the special work of his group and an appreciation of its relationship to other areas of company interest;
11. To teach, by precept, example, and demonstration, good housekeeping and safety practices and to see that such practices are observed;
12. To instruct those less experienced in common techniques and tasks performed within the group.
The Chemical Technologist
General description
Duties. -- The duty of the chemical technologist is to assist the chemist or engineer by performing routine, semi-routine, or complex work as necessary to accomplish an assigned objective. He does exploratory work fol lowing general directions with 1 ittle or no formal supervision and is often encouraged to innovate after consultation with his supervising chemist or engineer.
Educati onal Req uirements. -- Applicants for this position must have a minimum of three years of post high school education in a technical field plus two years experience as a chemical technician, or
its equivalent of eight years of experience as a chemical technician.
Many positions at this level may require possession of a bachelor's degree in chemistry or chemical engineering.
Personal Characteristics. -- The chemical technologist should have broad technical knowledge and proficiency in the application of this knowledge to the particular work of his group or section. High 45 ma n i p u l a t i v e s k i l l i s e s s en t i a l a s i s a n ex ten s i v e kn ow l edge of t he
apparatus, equipment, procedures, and techniques applicable to his
position. He must have a good record of reliability, initiative,
good judgement, and resourcefulness in meeting technical problems.
Promot ion. -- New employees in this position are subject to
conditions of three months of probation. The chemical technologist
is eligible for promotion to supervisory positions, or to positions
in management, sales, customer service, or other departments for which
he displays interest and aptitude.
Specific task assignments
Specialist. --
1. Demonstrates proficiency in all aspects of the particular work
to which he is assigned, usually in one of the following areas:
Spectroscopy -- infared, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass,
flame, X-ray, or ultraviolet;
Microscopy metallurgical, bio-medical, or electron dif-
fraction;
Chromatography -- gas, column, paper, or electrophoretic;
Radiochemical Techniques
Glass Blowing
Electronics AsSembly
Pilot Plant Operation
2. Conducts the work of his specialty, recognizing the idiosyn
crasies of his equipment, and applying unusual procedures when necessary;
3. Interprets the results of his work;
4. Performs al 1 indicated computations using the most appropriate
mathematics and the most efficient computational tools; 46
5. Often superv)ses technicians assisting with the manipulative details of his work.
Genera 1 i s t. --
1. Demon s trate s proficiency in the specific task assignments of the apprentice, junior, and senior chemical technologists;
2. Performs specialized and complex techniques of organic and inorganic syntheses, and of quantitative analyses;
3. May perform experiments involving tracer techniques or use of high resolution spectroscopy;
4. Performs all indicated calculations using the most appro priate mathematics and the most efficient computational tools;
5. Often supervises technicians assisting with the manipulative details of his work.
Estimated time distribution
Laboratory and Pi lot Plant Operations 20-40%
Operation of Instruments 40-20%
Reading, Writing, and Group Discussion 20 %
Computation 10%
Other Out ies 10 %
Responsibility
1. To maintain a complete, accurate, and legible notebook of his activities;
2. To insure that work carried out by him or by those working as his assistants meets high professional standards for efficiency, accuracy, and relevance to the problem at hand;
3. To insure that good housekeeping and safety practices are rigidly observed; 47
4. To insure that all equipment is functioning properly, making repairs when poss ible, and securing trained repairmen when necessary;
5. To focus a broad technical knowledge on the special chemistry of his group for the purpose of solving special problems or devising new processes and procedures.
6. To keep abreast of the technical literature in his field by reading, participating in internal discussions, meetings, and seminars, attending professional meetings, and maintaining files appropriate to his area of interest;
7. To demonstrate communications skills in the analysis, inter pretation, and transmission of facts and ideas in both written and oral form, including reports, papers, 1 iterature searches, correspondence, and discussions;
8. To demonstrate proficiency in the mathematical skills applicable to the requirements of his position;
9. To display initiative, judgement, and resourcefulness in design and development; 1n advising, recommending, or planning procedures or programs; in selecting, interpreting, and using information; and in dealing with a variety of problems relating to his special areas of competence.
Evaluative Criteria For Curr.iculums
General Criteria
1. Programs for the training of chemical technicians should be especially designed to integrate the component skills, knowledges, and attributes necessary for the performance of industrial tasks, in order to Simulate the diversity of daily tasks performed by the technician. 48
2. Emphasis should initially be placed on providing maximum opportunities for the acqui s ition of a high degree of manipulative
s k ill in laboratory and pilot plant operations because these operations engage most of the technician's time.
3. An open-ended program is desirable in order to provide
continuing opportunity to learn complex laboratory techniques, increas
ingly sophisticated instrumental techniques, theoretical chemical
concepts, and related content from other sciences. This is necessary
if the program is to assist the technician in attaining higher levels
of competence.
4. Pressure must be exerted to insure that a complete, accurate,
legible, intelligible, and permanent notebook is kept habitually by
every student, in order to teach routine industrial practices of
individual record-keeping.
5. High standards for good housekeeping and safety practices
must be set forth and enforced, in accordance with the tradition of
practice in the chemical industry.
Sequential Crite ria
l. Initial curricular offerings should emphasize laboratory
experiences centered about qualitative and quantitative inorganic
analysis, providing opportunities for gaining familiarity with the
appropriate glassware, laboratory equipment and procedures, automatic
balances, and pH meters. The mechanics of good notebook practice must
be taught. Lectures and readings in general descriptive chemistry,
including industrial processes, should be offered concurrently. The mathematics portion of the initial program should be correlated with 49 the laboratory and lecture wo rk, emphasizing the elementary algebraic skills associated with chemical stoichiometry on both laboratory and man ufact uring scales.
Whenever an instrumental met hod of analysis might be commonly employed i n industry for the determination of the elements, whether as sol ids, ions, or in compounds, the instrumental method should be
introduced into the curriculum. Time must be allotted for the student to become familiar with the use of the instrument at the time of
its introduction.
Complete analytical procedures should be used as often as they can be designed into the curriculum. These procedures would include
testing the mechanical properties of materials, determining the physical properties of pure substances, a,d learning appropriate procedures for obtaining representative samples f rom bulk supplies.
2. Laboratory experiences in organic chemistry should include common preparative methods as wel 1 as routine qualitative and quantita
tive organic analytical techniques. These experiences should provide an opportunity to learn the techniques of vacuum manipulations,
including manometric measurement, and some experience with the metering of fluid flow. Experience in si mple glass working and glass blowing
is a natural concommitant of these operations.
Continued exposure to instruments as appropriate to organic analysis is strongly recomme nded, and time should be allotted for
familiarization to occur. Colorimetry, refractometry, and beginning
infrared spectroscopy are certainly possible.
Lec tures and readings in descriptive organic chemistry including
industrial processes should be offered concurrently. Mathematics should 50 be correlated with the work of the laboratory, but may begin to
introduce more algebraic and geometric fundamental concepts.
3. Laboratory practice 1n pilot plant unit operations, designed
to produce several products and guarantee their quality, can provide opportunities for learning new skills while practicing those previously
learned. This portion of the program should be accompanied by workshop
experience to provide facility in the use of hand tools, and in the
techniques of the design and fabrication, or repair, of apparatus
necessary for either laboratory or pilot plant use. Other learnings
to be incorporated here should include pipe fitting and tube fitting,
techniques of heat transfer measurement, calibration and use of
thermocouples, and experience with recorders, circuit boards and
control panels.
Technical report writing, preparation of cost estimates, requisi
tion and service requests, literature surveys, and extensive use of
handbooks and other reference materials could be integrated into the
pilot plant productions.
Mathematics should be correlated with the unit operations work
and might well include graphical analysis of data, introductory
calculus, and other mathematical concepts, depending on the nature and
complexity of the pilot productions.
4. Advanced laboratory work in inorganic and organic syntheses
provides an opportunity for the introduction of special laboratory
tecniques, and more sophisticated instrumention for determining
physical-chemical properties and for providing analytical data. Some
of the methods of physical chemistry for viscosity, ionizations constants,
and other determinations can be introduced, and photometric techniques
can be developed. 51
Since familiarity with the properties of common chemicals should be firmly established, a high-level general chemistry course should be presented, offering extensive exposure to theoretical concepts and physical-chemical information. Mathematics should be correlated with this course, providing the skills in calculus, differential equations and statistics necessary for discussing and understanding the chemical concepts.
5. Lecture courses in modern organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and instrumental analysis should be accompanied by additional mathematics courses, and related science and engineering courses. These offerings should be selected and organized in consultation with the student in order to provide maximum support to his continuing progress in the chemical industry in which he is employed.
Summary
Several ideas have been clarified by this study. First, it appears that, in spite of automation and instrumentation, a great deal of old-fashioned chemical technology is still in use in the chemical industry. Accordingly, isolation techniques and wet methods of analysis must still be given ample coverage in educational programs in chemistry.
It is also clear that the chemical technician is the manipulatory specialist of the research and development team. There is a heavy demand for the operational skills of chemistry, and the technician is meeting this demand. He is expected to assemble and set up equipment, perform the tests and experiments and record the data for a variety of processes and procedures. The chemist or engineer then uses these data either for decision-making or as the basis for future plans. 52
In most cases the demand on the technician for the possession or
use of chemical knowledge is relatively small. He is not often expected
to translate the results of his work into formal written reports which analyze and summarize the research and development findings. Since
chemicals are among his tools, he is expected to be familiar with their
properties, but he is apparently not expected to understand the laws,
principles, and theories governing these principles.
Finally, this study indicates that the chemical technologist is
presently perceived as either a technician with years of manipulatory
experience or a chemist with a bachelor's degree. Neither type of
background is, in itself, entirely satisfactory. The bachelor's degree
cannot guarantee extensive manipulatory experience, and the technician's
experience cannot guarantee broad technical knowledge. The complementary
demands, manipulatory and conceptual, appear to meet in industry at
the position of the chemical technologist.
It would seem from this study that colleges offering training
for chemical technicians might well concentrate early on maximum opportunities for acquiring manipulative skill. It is hence implied
that laboratory work must be emphasized at the expense of formal course work, and further, that theoretical courses might well be eliminated, and
certainly should be deferred until the later stages of the training
program. In other words, the curriculum should emphasize occupational
entry skills. Acquisition of these entry skills could then be followed
by full time or night school offerings designed to provide theoretical
background, diversified laboratory and pilot plant experiences, and a
broad technical base in related studies.
If a laboratory-oriented approach is val id for the training of 53 ch emi cal techni ci ans , it is obvious that a curriculum made up of a collection of existing chemistry courses would not be suitable. Such course s are designed to suit the needs of the more t heoretically inclined ch em is t ry students and the laboratory portions of their study are usually tailored to supplement the conceptually-oriented portions.
The technician, on the othe r hand, needs instruction that will supple ment his laboratory experiences. Therefore, the curriculum must be especially designed to provide descriptive chemistry and computational mathematics at the time their necessity to the laboratory work becomes apparent to the student.
Th is study indicates that the chemical technologist is expected to possess both broad technicial knowledge and extensive manipulatory experience. It would seem almost impossible to provide enough appropriate learning experiences, even in the most carefully designed two-year technicial program, to insure the success of its graduates as chemical technologists. Colleges which plan to train chemical technologists should expect to offer four- and five-year programs similar to those now offered for medical technologists.
Implementation of a laboratory approach to the training of chemical technicians wi 11 require considerable ingenuity in the design of learning experiences which will simulate industrial demands. Cooperation with engineering departments, in terms of equipment and instructional staff, is clearly indicated by the frequency with which industry cal ls for the determination of the mechanical properties of materials. Implementation of the laboratory approach is certain to be expensive because it will require larger expenditures for equipment, supplies, and instruments. 54
The additiona l laboratory space required will probabl y not be available
for multi ple use by othe r chem istry students, and the requirements for
laboratory supervision will create additional demands for instructional
staff . Furthermore, few chemistry departments now have, or have access
to, pilot plan t fa cili t ies. Construction of such facilities, of necessity,
must precede the full implementation of a curriculum which would satisfy
the criteria developed in this study.
The focus of this study has been on the common activities performed
by the technicians throughout the chemical industry. No attempt has
been mad e to seek out or provide for the immediate needs of a particular
chemical industry or academic community. The study indicates that
a curriculum in chemical technology cannot be built from the traditional
patchwork of courses if it is to meet the needs of the student
technician and the chemical industry he intends to serve. Each college must accept the challenge of designing a special curriculum to meet occupational needs, with emphasis in proportion to the needs perceived
in its own situation. APPENDIX A
CAREER OPPORTUNITY CATEGORIES
Broad Career Opportunity categories ,n which an organization now employs or plans to employ chemists or chemical engineers are:
A. Analytical chemistry
B. Applied research
C. Basic research
D. Biochemistry
E. Clinical chemistry
F. Chemical engineering
G. Design or development of plants, processes or instruments
H. Geochemistry or mineralogy
I. Inorganic chemistry
J. Literature, abstracting, technical writing
K. Marketing, market research, sales, advertising, technical
services
L. Organic chemistry
M. Purchasing
N. Physical chemistry
0. Spectroscopy, radio-chemistry, nuclear chemistry
P. Waste disposal, sanitary chemistry
55 APPENDIX B
FIRST LETTER OF SOLICITATION
De partment of Chemistry Rochester Institute of Technology 65 Plymouth Ave. So. Rochester, New York, 14608 August 15, 1965
Personnel Manager
Dear Sir:
You are one of the people best able to help define the entry skills required for employment in the chemical industry. I am ask ing you, therefore, to assist in the continuing study of chemical education, the present focus of which is the chemical technician. His duties, while variously defined, are generally considered to require: l) academic preparation, preferably through high school, but usually less than the bachelor's degree in chemistry or chemical engineering; and 2) activities, at several levels of competence and responsibility, carried out under the supervision of graduate chemists and chemical engineers.
Will you help me by sending several job descriptions of typical technician positions in your company at levels within the limits des cribed above? After analyzing job descriptions from representative companies, we shal 1 be in a better position to develop educational programs for technicians who, in turn, may better supply the needs of the chemical industry.
I realize that such descriptions are official company documents. Let me assure you, therefore, that they will be handled with the utmost discretion, and that they will not be reproduced nor disclosed in any way. Furthermore, after completion of the analysis, the descriptions will either be destroyed, or, if you request, they will be returned to you.
56 57
APPENDIX B (cont inued)
Personnel Mana ge r August 15, 196 5 page 2
Since re t ha nks f or whatever assi s tance you may be able to give toward this study. A self-addressed, stamped envelope is enclosed to encourage your early reply.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Nina M. Sandberg
Nina M. Sandberg Ass't. Prof. - Chemistry APPENDIX C
SECOND LETTER OF SOLICITATION
C Rochester Institute of Technology 0 65 Plymouth Avenue South p Rochester, New York, 14608 y October 8, 1965
Personnel Manager
Dear Sir:
Your reply to my August 15th letter requesting assistance in a study of the position of technicians in the chemical industry has not yet reached me. Your company should be repre sented. Interest in this phase of chemical education is increasing and has resulted in the continuance of the American Chemical Society's Ad Hoc Committee on Technicians' Training. Although my study is not supported by this committee, the results of my work are being shared with them.
You can help by sending job descriptions of typical positions in your company for chemical technologists. As described in my previous letter, their duties are ge~eral ly considered to require: l) academic preparation, preferably through high school, but usually less than the bachelor's degree in chemistry or chemical engineering; and 2) activities, at several levels of competence and responsibility, carried out under the supervision of graduate chemists and chemical engineers.
Let me again assure you that any documents you send me will be handled with the utmost discretion, and that they will not be reproduced nor disclosed in any way. After completion of my analysis, the job descriptions will be destroyed, or, if you request, they will be returned to you.
58 59
APPENDIX C (continued)
Personnel Manager October 8, 1965 page 2
Sincere thanks for your assistance.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Nina M. Sandberg
Nina M. Sandberg Assistant Professor Chemistry Department
NMS/skw APPENDIX D
FINAL TALLY SHEET FROM 328 JOB ANALYSES
OPERATIONAL SKILLS (LABORATORY)
Use of Standard Glassware & Equipment 312 Balances 162 Beakers and Flasks 140 Assembly of Glassware 100 Hardware l 38 lnterjoint Glassware 3 Funnels 5 Crucibles 3 Casseroles l Graduates 7
Qualitative Inorganic Analysis 26 Centrifuges 41 Test Tubes 120 Adjusts pH 23 Isolation 59
Qualitative Organic Analysis 19 Determination of Functional Groups 17 Saponification 2 Sodium Fusion 3
Organic Synthesis: Common or Routine 133 Crystallizations 26 Di a zo ti za ti on 2 Fusion 2 Esterification 5 Oxidation 9 Halogenation 7 Reduction 2 Extraction 21 Fractional Distillation 87 Isolation 126 Acid Treatment 3 Drowning 1 Filtration (Vacuum) 19 Steam Stripping 4 Steam Distil lat ion 6 Determines Yield 30
60 . 61
APPENDIX D (con tinued )
Org an ic Synthes is: Sequential or Complex 58 Coupling 4 Nitration 8 Sulfonation ·2 Nitrosation 1 Cata lytic Oxidation l Polymer ization 17 Hydrogenation 15 High Vacuum or High Pressure 2
Org an ic Synthesis: Special Techniques 14 Fluorination 2 Friedel-Crafts l Grignard; Claisen 3 Methyl at ion 2 Lithium Reductions I Ring Closures 3 Hoffman Degradation l Control led Atmosphere 8
Gravi me ntric & Volumetric Analysis 285 Samp 1e Co I l ec ti on I l 5 Sa mp l e Preparation 202 Weighing 280 Dr ying 40 Ignition 62 Washing 81 Extraction 29 Pipetting 105 Titrating 105 Di Jut ions 56 Filtration 177 Ashing 18 Volatiza tion 5 Quantitative Transfer 3 Cali bration of Weights and Volumetric Glasswa re 4 Preparation and Standardization of Solutions 227 Analysis According to Standard Procedures 280
Inorganic Synthesis: Co mmon or Routine 21 Co mpounding of Samples 16 Silver Hal ides 2 Preparation of Emulsions 7 Glass Formulas 2 Cement Formulas J Pigments 6 62 APPENDIX D (continued)
Inorganic Synthesis: Sequential or Complex 10 Catalyst Preparations 9 Complex Salts l Beryllium Compounds l
Inorganic Synthesis: Special Techniques 12 Hydrides l Peroxides l Silicones 2 Explosives & Propellants 2
Determining Routine Physical Constants 223 Melting Point 35 Crystallization Point 7 Boiling Point 42 Specific Gravity 60 Refractive Index 81 Softening Point 51 Color 8
Determining Physical-Chemical Constants 137 Viscosity 71 Specific Rotation 3 Solubility 28 Density 56 Dissolved Oxygen 4 Hygroscopic i ty 2 Surface Tension 35 Vapor Pressure 8 Specific Volume 2 The rmodynam ic Properties 11 Flash Point 3 Half-Life 2 Rate of Combustion 29 Dielectric Constants 3 Ionization Constants 2 Miscellaneous Single Others 9
Determining Mechanical Properties 305 Wettability 4 Detergency 3 Shee r Strength 25 Peel Strength 12 Heat Resistance 80 Storage Stability 96 Crystal Structure 11 Flexibility 12 Elasticity 38 Hardness 95 Tensile Strength 108 63
APPENDIX D (continued)
Determining Mechanical Properties (continued) Impact Resistance 74 Color Fastness 8 Film Thickness 10 Extrusion Characteristics 14 Conductivity 27 Gasoline 11 Knock 11 3 Physical Measurements 179 Adhesion 52 Corrosion Resistance 39 Abrasion Res istance 14 Optical Strain 3
Vacuum Manipulations 135 Heat Transfer Measurement 41 Flow Measurement 92 Manometric Measurements 138 Turbidomet ry 19 Fluorimetry 14 Polarimetry 7 Paper Chromatography 112 Column Chromatography 156 Ion Exchange 7
OPERATIONAL SKILLS (PILOT PLANT)
Mixing 201 Grinding, Milling, Screening 184 Di s t i l l at i on 45 Extraction 39 Fi 1 tr at ion 176 Drying 229 Manometric Measurement 58 Vacuum Manipulation 32 Flow Measurement 87 Heat Transfer Measurement 19
INSTRUMENTATION SKILLS
Pe rforms Instrumental Analysis 208 Automatic Balances 165 pH Meters 138 Re corders 81 Poten tiome ters 75 Colorimeters 66 Bench I .R. (lnfrachord) 97 Spectrophotometers 189 Electroanalyzers 48 64
APPE NDI X D (continued)
INST RUMENTATION SKILLS (continued)
Physical Testing Machines 305 Ov ens 95 Furnaces 102 Sh ake rs 11 Vo 1 t me ters 8 Amme t e rs 8 Hardness (Brinnel & Others) 15 Refractometers 2 Reflectometers 2 Salt Spray 6 Micrometers 12 Ba 11 Mi 11 s 18 Presses 21 Pul 1 Testers 4 Impact Testers 5 Molders 7 Extruders 28 Miscellaneous Single Others 29
X-ray, UV, Visible 4 Electron Diffraction 2 Microscopes & Optical 30 Radiation Detection & Measurement 12 Gas Chromatograph 141 IR, Mass Spec, NMR 34 Circuit Boards or Control Panels 162 Automatic Titrators & Analyzers 5 Miscellaneous Single Others 18 Maintenance 165 Check Standard 101 Calibration 88 Unusual Calibrations 5 Adjustment 90 Minor Repairs 77 Major Repairs 14
CO MPUTATIO NA L SKILLS
Paper & Pencil (Performs Calculations) 309 Tables and Handbooks 156 Calculator 83 Slide Rule 19 Co mputer 5 Des k-Type Integrator 6 Responsibility: Substitution 113 Develops Set-up as Directed 187 Not Specified (High Level) 9 6.5
APPENDIX D (continued)
COMP UTA TI ONAL SKI LLS (continued)
Level: Algebra 27 Calculus 15 Statistics 11 Other 2
CO MMUN IC ATIONS SKILLS
Records Data 285 Maintains: Log Boo k 66 Notebook 251 Inventory Records 97 Fi 1es 76 Reads: Instructions & Memos 238 Files 62 Technical Books & Journals 35 Contri bu tes to Reports (Includes Grouping or Graphing Data) 174 Writes: Supply Requisitions 248 Services from Other Departments 126 Internal Notes & Memos 72 Procedures & Processes 63 Instructions 99 Cost Estimates 21 Interim & Final Reports 25 Literature Surveys 42 Technical Pape rs 10 Corresponden ce 75 Initial Patent Forms 16 Part i c i pates I n : Group Discussions 51 Inter-Group Conferences 44 Internal Meetings and Seminars 38 External Meetings and Seminars 16 Customer Service Visits 45
TOOL AND MECHANICAL SKILLS
Standard Hand Tools 78 Painting and Stenciling Tools (Includes Sending Samples) 72 Simple Glass Working 132 Glass Blowing 15 66
APPENDIX D (continued)
TOOL AND MECHANICAL SKILLS (continued)
Copper or Similar Fittings 76 Pipe Fitting 61 Electronic Assembly 19 Welding, Brazing, Soldering 92 Power Saws and Other ,Cutting Tools 71 Lathes & Machine Tools 42
HOUSEKEEPING DUTIES
Clean Equipment 216 Maintain Neatness and Order 284 Maintain Equipment 170 Replenishment of Supplies 232 Inventory 150 Responsibility: Self 280 Superiors 25 Train Others 81 Enforce 8
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
Good Appearance 115 Ability to Learn 275 Dependability 301 Able to Understand Instructions 156 High Degree of Manipulative Skill 189 Able to Work With Others 67 Able to Work Alone 65 Familiar with Common Chemicals 236 Understanding of Group Chemistry 107 Sufficient Knowledge to Interpret Results 201 Broad Technical Knowledge 28 Critical Observer 82 Initiative 292 Judgement 268 Creativity 34
HEALTH AND SAFETY SKILLS
Observe Rules 143 Train Others 27 En force Rules 9 67
APPENDIX D (continued)
OTHER
Handles "Day -to-Day" Details 16 Administrative Details and Supervision 26 Initial Interpretation of Results 33 Develops Processes 24 Analyzes Data 19 "Other Duties as Required 11 146 Develops Apparatus 48 Skilled Pilot Plant Operator 20
EDUCATION
High School 39 Plus 1 yr. College (2 yrs. Experience) 56 Plus 2 yrs. College (2 yrs. Experience) 80 Plus 3 yrs. College (6 yrs. Experience) 64 Plus 3 yrs. College (8 or more yrs. Experience) 32 Unspecified 61 APPENDIX E
COVER LETTER FOR VALIDATION STUDY
Rochester Institute of Technology Post Office Box 3414 Rochester, New York, 14614 August 19, 1968
Director of Research
Dear Sir:
Since January 1966 I have been engaged in a study of the duties of the chemical technicians as reflected by industry job descriptions. This work, when published, should encourage rapid implementation of the educational programs suggested by both the A.C.S. and the U.S.O.E. committees on technician training. Such implementation should ease the apparent demand for qualified people in these positions.
The attached check 1 ist of skills and duties' represents my summary of an analysis of over 250 job descriptions for various positions at the technician levels in the chemical industry. I am sending it to your care to seek outside validation of my analysis by those who daily supervise technicians at various levels of competence. Every effort has been made to keep it minimally t ime consuming.
Since my dissertation is nov, "hung" on this outside val idati.on it would be a great service if you would ask one of your people to complete the check 1 ist and zip it back to me. A stamped, self addressed envelope, directed to my summer address, has been included to encourage an early reply.
Sincere thanks for your help.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Nina M. Sandberg
Nina M. Sandberg Assistant Professor
68 APPENDIX F
EXPLANATION OF VALIDATION STUDY
A NOTE ON THE NEED FOR YOUR HELP
We have witnessed a spate of conferences and committees arise to study the training necessary for a chemical technician. The present study was undertaken in order to deve lop job-based criteria for curriculums in chemical technology. In the fall of 1965, job descriptions for the position of chemical technician were solicited from the 582 companies listed in the Employment Opportunities issue of C&EN, through the personnel departments. Approximately half of the companies responded, and the average number of descriptions submitted was three.
While for purposes of salary increases and promotion practices many grades exist, four general levels of competence seem to have emerged from these job descriptions:
I. Apprentice Technician: Does routine and semi routine work following explicit instructions under close supervision.
I I. Junior Technician: Does routine work as assigned under limited or general supervision, and does semi routine or complex work fol lowing explicit instructions under relatively close supervision.
I I I. Senior Technician: Does routine or semi-routine work as necessary without formal instructions or supervision; does complex work following general instructions under general supervision; does exploratory work following explicit instructions under limited or general supervision.
IV. Chemical Technologist: Does routine, semi-routine, and complex work as necessary to accomplish assigned objectives; does exploratory work fol lowing general directions with little or no formal supervision; is often encouraged to innovate after consultation with a senior scientist.
69 70
APPENDIX F (continued)
The attached check-1 ist of skills and attributes is sent to your care in order to solicit a validation of the job analysis by those who daily supervise ch emical technicians. Please complete it by checking the leve l, or levels, to which, in your judgement, each particular item applies. It may well be that some items do not, in your judgement, apply to any techn ician; in that case, leave a blank. A stamped, self-addressed envelope, directed to my summer address, has been attached to encourage an early reply.
Thanks for your time and interest.
Nina M. Sandberg Ass 1 t. Prof. - Chemistry R. I .T., Rochester, New York APPENDIX G
TALLY SHEET FROM SUMMARY VALIDATION CHECK LIST
APP. JR. SR. TECH.
OPERATIONAL SKILLS
Labora tory Techniques : Use of standard glassware and equ ipme nt 40 43 43 42 Qualitative Inorgan ic Analysis 8 24 37 37 Qualitative Organic Ana l ysis l 12 30 39 Gravimetric and Volumetric Analysis 10 28 38 38 Org an ic Synthesis : Co mmon 8 21 33 37 Sequential 1 7 27 32 Special Techniques 9 31 Inorganic Synthesis: Co mmon 6 17 30 31 Sequential 7 19 30 Special Techniques 2 11 25 Determining Routine Physical Constants 24 35 38 37 Determining Physical-Chemica l Constants 4 19 38 37 Determining Mechanical Properties 19 25 36 38 Vacuum Manipulations 5 24 37 39 Heat Transfer Measurement 3 13 28 27 Flow Measurement 8 28 33 34 Manometric Measurement 12 25 32 30 Turbidomet ry 8 16 25 28 Fluorimetry 3 10 19 24 Polari met ry 3 12 21 30 Paper Chromatography 4 13 27 34 Column Chromatography 3 13 28 37 APPENDIX G (continued)
APP. J R. SR. TECH.
Pilot Pl ant Techniques: Mixing 31 36 34 34 Grinding, Mi 11 i ng, Screening 26 30 33 29 Di st i 11 at ion 9 24 33 36 Extraction 9 22 32 31 Filtration 19 30 33 32 Drying 24 35 34 29 Manometric Measurement 12 19 28 27 Vacuum Manipulation 5 18 31 32 Flow Measurement 9 20 29 27 Heat Transfer Measurement 4 10 22 25
IN STRUMENTATION SK ILLS
Uses: Automatic Balances 34 41 43 40 pH Meters 28 42 41 41 Recorders 15 37 39 37 Poten tiome ters 11 27 33 36 Colori meters 15 27 35 34 ln frachord or Si mi lar 3 16 32 33 Ot her Spectrophotomete rs 1 14 25 36 Electroana lyzers 1 9 23 31 Phy sical Testing Machines 22 32 33 34 Microscopes or Other Optical 12 28 36 37 Radiation Detection & Measurement 2 9 15 25 Gas Chromatograph 3 . 14 25 36 IR, Mass Spec . , NMR 6 18 35 Circuit Boards or Cont rol Panels 4 14 22 29
-....J N APPENDIX G (continued)
APP. JR. SR. TE CH .
Maintenance : Ch ec k Ag ai ns t Standa rd 16 29 35 35 Conv entiona l Ca librat ion 11 27 35 33 Sp ecial Ca librat ions 2 27 35 Adj us t men t 1 9 25 38 Minor Repa ir or Rep lacemen t of El emen t s 3 12 32 38 Major Re pa irs or Rep l acements 10 21
COMPUT ATIO NA L SKILLS
Uses: Paper and Pen c i 1 37 42 42 42 Tabl es and Hand books 20 38 42 43 Calculator 23 38 42 41 S 1 i de Ru 1e 19 31 40 41 Comput e r 1 4 16 30 Des k-type integra t o r 1 4 17 28
Res pon s i b i 1 i t y : Rote Sub s tituti on in Fo rmula 20 30 33 39 Deve lops se t-up a s directed 6 27 35 37 Independ ent Cho ice 2 16 33
Lev e 1: Arithme tic and Algeb ra 25 38 43 44 Ca lculus and Diffe rentials 1 3 16 27 Statistics 1 3 10 26 Higher or Other 2 14 APPENDI X G (cont inued )
APP. JR. SR. TECH.
COM MUN IC ATIO NS SKILLS
Record s Data 38 43 43 41 Ma intains Log Book 27 40 39 39 Mainta in s Notebook 30 39 43 41 Contributes to Reports 5 15 37 41
Writes : Supply Requisitions 11 26 39 39 Request s for Inte rnal Services 3 19 32 38 In t ern a 1 Memos 1 4 16 39 Procedures and Processes 3 12 37 Instruction Sheets 2 15 31 Cost Estima tes 4 22 Interim and Final Reports 4 25 Literature Surveys 2 10 25 Tech n ical Papers 4 l 6 Correspondence 4 l 1 24 Initial Patent Requests 2 3 6 29
Maintains: Inventory Records 12 24 31 29 Fi 1es 10 17 30 37
Participa tes in: Group Discussions 8 15 31 42 Inte r-group Conferen ces 1 4 l 8 33 Internal Meetings and Seminars 2 8 18 35 External Meetings and Seminars 6 23 Customer Service Vi s its 2 12 29 APPENDIX G (cont inued )
APP. JR. SR. TECH.
Read s : Instructions and Inte rn a l Memos 16 28 37 40 Circulating Files 7 11 22 30 Technica l Boo ks and Journa ls 5 17 26 37
TOOL AND MECHANICAL SKILLS
Uses: Standard Hand Too ls 38 40 39 37 Painting or Stenciling Too l s 28 32 28 26 Simple Glass Working 7 20 31 27 Glass Blowing 4 13 22 Copper (or similar) Fittings 7 18 25 26 Pipe Fitting 7 17 21 21 Electronic Assembly 6 14 28 Welding, Brazing, Solder ing 4 9 16 17 Power Sa ws and Other Cutting Tools 11 18 26 24 Lathes , Drill Presses, Etc. 5 15 21 19
HOUSEKEEPING DUTIES
Messenger Service 32 25 11 11 Maintaining Neatness and Ord e r 40 41 35 37 Dishwashing 37 30 20 20 Routine Maintenance (Oil, Grease, Etc.) 28 31 20 15 General Cleaning and Washin g 34 29 18 17 Replenishmen t of Chemicals and Supplies 25 40 35 23 Solvation of Residues 17 22 23 21 Disposal of Wastes 28 30 21 21 Preparation and Use of Cleaning Solution 20 31 29 23 Inventory 13 22 28 20 -.....i Coffee Hours 21 18 18 16 V, APPENDIX G (continued )
APP. JR. SR. TECH.
Res pons i bi l i ty: For Himse lf 35 38 37 39 For Tho se Superior in Rank l 0 11 8 9 Train Others l 9 39 41 Enforce Good Practice 4 6 30 37
PERSON AL ATTRIBUTES
Good Appearance 28 31 34 36 Ability to Learn 37 42 42 42 Dependability 38 41 43 43 Able to Understand Instructions 38 42 42 42 High Degree of Manipulative Skill 11 20 43 39 Abi 1 ity to Work With Others 37 42 42 40 Able to Work Alone 9 21 36 44 Familiar With Prope rties of Co mmon Ch emi cals 9 28 41 43 Understanding of Special Chemistry of Group 5 26 40 Suffici ent Knowledge to Interpret Results 4 23 39 Broad Technica l Know ledge 8 29 Critical Observer 5 14 29 39 Initiative 18 24 40 41 Judgement 8 18 38 41 Creativity 2 5 17 30
HEALTH AND SAFETY SKILLS
Use of: Normal Safety Equipment 37 42 43 42 Standard Proced ures for Chemicals 18 35 41 41 Fire Extinguishers 39 43 43 42 Electrical Safeguards 28 39 40 40 APPENDIX G (continued)
APP. JR. SR. TECH.
Gas Masks 25 30 38 38 Protective Suiting 23 28 31 32 Techniques for Hazardous Material s 9 22 37 40 Res pons i bi 1 i t y: Observing Safe Practice 38 41 43 42 Training Others 1 9 40 42 Enforcing Safe Practice 4 7 28 40
Assume an average 40 hour week for each grade of technician and try to estimate how many hours you would expect him to be engaged in each of the following areas of activity: (mean values)
Housekeeping Chores 10.6 6.7 3.4 1.9 Specific Health and Safety Work 0.4 0.9 l. 2 1 .0 Writing, Reading, Group Discussion 1.3 2.0 4. 1 7.9 Operation of Instruments 6.3 7.2 8.9 7.8 Lab and/or Pilot operations 17. 5 18.0 15.6 13. 7 Computati on 1. 4 3.0 4.5 4.9 Othe r Duties, As Requested 2.5 2.2 2.3 2.8
See Appendix H for frequency Distribution.
Please add any comments you care to make: APPENDIX H
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ESTIMATED TIMES
Appr entice Junior Senior Technol og ist t f t f t f t f
HO USEKEEPI NG DUTIES 1 l l 3 . 0 4 0 10 2 3 2 5 l 3 1 8 3 1 3 3 2 13 2 13 4 3 4 7 3 5 3 1 5 5 5 l 0 4 1 4 2 6 2 8 2 5 8 5 6 7 l l 0 5 6 4 8 3 15 2 8 l -.....J 10 8 16 l 10 2 o:> 12 l 20 2 15 3 25 l 20 4 25 2 30 2
SPECIFIC HE ALTH AND SAFETY WORK 0 28 0 21 0 19 0 23 l 7 l 10 1 6 l 6 2 4 2 7 2 11 2 5 3 l 4 2 3 1 4 1 5 3 4 2 5 1 5 2 APPE ND IX H (continued )
App rentice Juni or Senior Technologist t f t f t f t f
READI NG , WRITING AND GROUP DISCU SSION 0 21 0 13 0 5 1 1 4 I 3 I 2 2 2 2 9 2 15 2 4 3 2 4 1 3 2 3 1 4 6 5 3 4 1 4 12 5 3 8 1 5 4 5 10 6 3 6 2 6 2 8 11 8 1 7 1 10 6 8 1 12 I 10 3 15 3 20 2
OPERATIO N OF INSTRUMENTS 0 10 0 4 0 5 0 5 1 4 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 4 3 3 1 4 3 3 1 5 7 4 6 5 2 4 2 6 1 5 7 6 2 5 6 8 2 8 3 8 3 8 3 10 3 10 5 10 10 9 1 14 1 12 4 12 1 JO IO 15 2 Jl• 2 15 5 12 2 18 1 15 4 16 2 15 3 20 2 18 1 18 2 16 1 38 1 20 2 20 2 25 1 APPEN DIX H (con ti nued)
Apprentice Ju n ior Senior Techno l ogist t f t f t f t f
LA BORA TO RY AND / OR PIL OT OP ERAT IONS 0 1 0 I I I 0 2 I 5 I 5 6 I 4 1 7 1 7 1 2 2 5 2 8 1 8 3 5 2 JO 9 10 7 10 5 6 I 15 2 12 2 12 1 8 4 16 1 14 2 14 2 9 1 18 1 15 3 15 3 I 0 7 20 8 17 I 16 3 11 1 23 1 18 2 18 3 14 2 24 1 19 1 20 1 15 4 25 3 20 5 21 l l 6 3 26 3 24 l 22 l 19 l 28 l 25 4 23 1 20 2 30 1 26 24 l 22 1 32 2 27 2 25 2 24 1 33 1 28 4 27 1 25 3 30 1 28 2 26 1 34 1 30 2 28 1 34 1 30 1
COMPUT ATIO N 0 18 0 9 0 3 0 3 1 7 1 5 l 2 1 2 2 5 2 7 2 3 2 3 3 4 3 5 3 4 4 9 4 2 4 6 4 12 5 8 co 5 2 5 3 5 7 6 7 0 8 1 6 2 6 3 7 1 8 1 8 4 8 4 10 3 10 3 10 3 APPENDIX H (continued)
Apprentice Junior Senior Technologi st t f t f t f t f
OTHER DUTIES AS REQUESTED 0 l l 0 13 0 l l 0 12 l 5 l 5 l 5 1 5 2 11 2 6 2 6 2 9 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 2 4 2 4 5 4 7 4 4 5 2 5 3 5 3 5 2 8 1 6 2 6 2 6 1 12 1 8 1 8 2 20 1 l 0 2 15 l
t = No. Hours per 40-hour week Total Response: App. 39 Sr. 4 l f = Frequen cy of Response Jr. 41 Tech. 40
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82 83
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17. Nelsen, Arden, and Westfall, Ronald. Training and Reference Manual for Job Analysis, B.E.S. No. E-3, u.s":"" Department of LaboGWashington, D. C., 1965.
18. Shuster, A. H. 11 Modified Job Analysis and In-Service Education, 11 American School Board Journal, 150, 15-16, 1965.
19. U. S. Office of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Education. Technical Education Program Series No. 5, Chemical Technology: I!:._ Suggested 2-Year Post~ School Curriculum, U. S. Govern ment Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1964.
20. U. S. Office of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Education, Technical Education Branch. Occupational Criteria and Prepa ratory Patterns lr2_ Technical Education Programs, U. S. Govern ment Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 19 2.
21. Vasek, Richard J. I!:._ Comparative Ana lysis of Electronic Content in Pub! ic Post High School Technical Institutes and Electronic TechnologyRequiremtnts of Industry, MississippiState University, State College"; Miss., Project No. 6-8590, VT No. 004-005, Ecucational Research Information Ce~ter, Rockville, Md., 1967.
22. Ziol, Frank J. 11 Training the Technician, 11 unpublished report presented at the 18th annual conference of the Instrument Society of America, Chicago, Ill., 1963. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Nina May Sandberg was born in Fort Scott, Kansa~ November 13,
1926. In June of 1944 she was graduated from Barker Central School
in Barker, New York. In June, 1948, she received the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in chemistry from Cornell University. After two years as a chemist with the National Aniline Division in Buffalo,
New York, she began graduate study completing a Master of Science degree in organic chemistry at Wichita State University in June, 1952.
Her work experience includes two years as a qua! ity control chemist at Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas; three additional years as an exploratory research chemist with the National Aniline Division; one year as a development chemist at the General Chemical Division in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and one year as a biochemical research assistant at Tulane University. Since September of 1960 she has been a member of the chemistry faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester,
New York. Doctoral courses were undertaken at Louisiana State University and the University of Rochester, and were completed at the University of
Florida during 1964 and 1965. Completion of the dissertation was delayed until the fall of 1968.
Nina May Sandberg is a member of the American Chemical Society and
Kappa Delta Pi. She is an associate member of the National Society for
Research in Science Education and of the Rochester Recreational Club for the Deaf. This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the chai rman of the candida t e 1 s supervisory committee and has been app roved by all member s of that committee. It was submitted to the
Dean of the Coll ege of Education and to the Graduate Council, and was approved as partial f ul f illment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education.
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