I liked having a job that was science based. It was very different from my student lab assistant job at CSU and exposed me to things I hadn't experienced before. All American Pet Proteins (AAPP) has a lab on their protein processing campus run by people who do not have an education in science. I developed an appreciation for the 'why' of somethings that are just standard in lab protocol. The safety program at AAPP is top notch.
What I wish was different
AAPP's lab is strongly interconnected with their operations department. There is a lot of interference by operations management to 'work' with them on the data generated by the lab testing. There conflicting values that can be very confusing.
Advice
This is a good first time out of college job. AAPP has a lot of turn over. The benefits are good. The main science part of this job is running an NMR machine and an ash machine. The biggest challenge is learning how to adjust the protein product when the proteins needed to complete a recipe are not available.
