We spoke to Steve Hindmarsh in the Research Technology Platforms (RTPs) about his promotion to Technical Support Specialist, his career to date and his advice for others!

What was your journey to becoming a technical specialist?
I’ve had a slightly non-traditional route into this role. I completed a Product Design undergraduate degree before switching fields to work as a Measured Building Surveyor. After a few years I moved into Commercial Building Energy Assessment. This is simply producing Energy Performance Certificates like you’d have for a house, but for commercial properties.

After a year I decided on another career change as I was not enjoying the role, particularly all of the travel. Therefore, in 2011 I took a grade 3 position as a trainee technician within the Physics Department, hoping it would suit me better. After moving between a few groups, I ended up within the microscopy facility. This was an area that I enjoyed, and that had the space and need for a new technician. After a year I was promoted to grade 4 where I stayed for a couple of years before being considered to be an expert and gaining promotion to grade 5. This coincided with the formation of the RTPs, with Electron Microscopy forming one of the original core facilities.

In 2018 a grade 6 role became available within WMG’s electron microscopy facility. I discussed this with our facility director, and since he didn’t want to lose me he matched the job role. Before the promotion pathway, this was realistically the only way for technical specialists to progress beyond grade 5, other than management. I was already technical lead for many of the machines and working at a grade 6 level, so this was just a way of actually securing the promotion.

Following the introduction of the promotion pathway pilot in 2023, I chose to apply for a grade 7. I had been working at a high level within my role for several years and was now providing benefits to the university beyond my core duties. In May 2024 I was pleased to discover that my application was successful.

It’s great to see how your career has progressed quite rapidly at Warwick. Thinking beyond just the pathway, how do you feel things have changed both in terms of moving from a department to a core facility and also in terms of the culture?
The change to working within a core facility happened quite early for me, and it coincided with the point that I was considered to be an expert in my area. So, the change from being ‘told what to do’ to being ‘asked to help’ happened quite early in my career. This was due to becoming a core facility and the different way in which we were perceived.

Being consulted about projects from the beginning, rather than once the microscopy is needed, is something that’s happened more recently. This is most definitely due to the technician commitment, and the recognition technicians now receive. There are so many opportunities that have opened up for us, such as being invited to more events and conferences and being involved with funding applications. So for me, now that the commitment has been going for a few years the scale of opportunities has exploded and it’s good to see the change.

In terms of your application itself, are there any things that you are most proud of?
I think the standout, which links to the new things we are allowed to do as technicians, is my involvement in an EPSRC grant proposal. I worked alongside a group of nine other technicians based within the Midlands Innovation Group, led by Matthew Piggot at the University of Nottingham. We hoped to create a strategic technical platform for electron microscopy technicians, which would develop the community. We did well and made it through to the panel interview stage, which I sat in alongside the PI. This helped to expand my network and really pushed me to think beyond the needs of my own lab or colleagues, and to consider the wider community. The network has since been created despite not securing funding. We’ve already had our first meeting and are planning another for next year.

What would your advice be to others applying for the funding round?
I would say that your core duties are important so you need to make the most of what it is that you’re doing and convey that in your application. For me, it was especially important to focus on points that benefit the university beyond our core duties, so outreach, collaboration, wider research impact, sustainability and funding opportunities. These are the things that any promotion is going to be based on, because you should already be graded correctly for what your role requires. It’s these extra initiatives and activities that are going to make you stand out. I’d suggest you give any opportunities that become available true consideration, even if they might seem a little outside your comfort zone.