[specOTL]

Hey everyone,

I have an internship at a chemistry lab and I have no clue how to dress for my first days...

Can someone enlighten me on what to wear and bring? I know to bring lab coat, glasses + goggles; but how do I dress?

[discodermolide]

Hey everyone,

I have an internship at a chemistry lab and I have no clue how to dress for my first days...

Can someone enlighten me on what to wear and bring? I know to bring lab coat, glasses + goggles; but how do I dress?

I would have thought that they would have provided the lab coat and safety glasses.
Anyway wear what you are comfortable in, your everyday stuff. That will be fine.

[Arkcon]

Well, PPG (personal protective gear -- the lab coat and goggles, for example) should be provided by the lab, to be certain that it meets the safety standard the hazards at the lab would need.  So don't bring your own.  You should dress light, in layers, so a lighter shirt and a light sweater, so you can take a layer off depending on the temperature in the lab.  Lab temperature is kinda an afterthought when labs are built, they can have too much air conditioning, or get too hot because of waste heat from instruments and computers.  Be ready for this, so your first few days aren't uncomfortable for you, and you're distracted when you need to learn what to do the most.

Try to select clothing made from natural fabrics ... wool and cotton burn slower than synthetics.  You probably won't be at the center of a major accident your first day, by try to develop a safety consciousness in advance.  Wearing a fluffy acetate or rayon sweater is a very bad idea, all the more if you handle flammable reagents.

If you expect to work with strong sulfuric acid, avoid denim blue jeans.  The short staple fibers are very prone to being destroyed, and a minor spill will leave a hole rapidly.  Any other cotton fabric will resist it a little better, and there are also scotch-guarded fabrics if you really suspect spills might be a problem.

Try to wear good quality shoes.  Sneakers aren't a very good idea if you can help it.  What you want is shoes that won't rapidly wick in a spill, so you have time to react.

[Arkcon]

Also, if you or the next person reading this is a woman, you might want to be sure you wear slacks, and not a skirt, at least for a little while, until you understand the lab's hazards.  Also, women's sneakers tend to be really thin, so sturdy shoes are important.

[specOTL]

Ah cheers mate, I haven't been provided much detail on anything really but I will be starting soon

Appreciate the insight

[DrCMS]

In most compaines I have worked for the in the UK they will provide safety shoes aswell, typically anti-static steel toe cap ones.

I'd agree with the things others have said but on the first day I'd dress smartly and say wear trousers, shirt and tie.  It's unlikely you'll be doing any actual chemistry on the first day it'll be induction training, site awarness, sorting out PPE etc.  I like to see new starts making a bit of an effort at the start; just turning up in trainers, jeans and a t-shirt suggest you are not taking it that seriously.  If everyone else is dressed casually you can dress down for your 2nd day but if everyone else is smartly dressed you can't really dress up after a casual start.

[408]

There is no such thing as overdressing

[Arkcon]

There is no such thing as overdressing

I don't mean to really disagree, but this can be taken too far.  I haven't worn a tie, like DrCMS: suggested, and I may start, at least for the first day.  But if you're going to wear a blazer, or a suit, and you're going to be a bench chemist -- you really have to be sure that you leave it elsewhere before you enter the laboratory.  Else, it almost looks like you don't know the first principles of what you're expected to be doing.

[crosemeyer]

Agree.  If you're going for a job as a bench chemist, show up dressed to work as one, not as a cube rat.

[DrCMS]

I haven't worn a tie, like DrCMS: suggested, and I may start, at least for the first day.

Try it; you only get to make one 1st impression.

But if you're going to wear a blazer, or a suit, and you're going to be a bench chemist -- you really have to be sure that you leave it elsewhere before you enter the laboratory.  Else, it almost looks like you don't know the first principles of what you're expected to be doing.

Pretty much every company I've worked for or visited has separate lab and offices where you can leave a jacket etc. 

I would wear a suit for my 1st day at a new job but for a more junior position or in summer as I've said trousers shirt and tie would be my choice for the 1st day.  After that you can dress to match the other staff but it's much harder to dress up than dress down.  Different companies have different expectation of their staff but you only get to find that out after you start the job.

If you're going for a job as a bench chemist, show up dressed to work as one, not as a cube rat.

Sure if you want to stay at the bottom rung of the ladder for ever then act like that's where you want to be from from day 1.

[crosemeyer]

I'm in the environmental field; put bluntly, we work with s#*$.  If I hire a chemist and he turns up overdressed I won't be impressed.

[Hiba]

Hey everyone,

I have an internship at a chemistry lab and I have no clue how to dress for my first days...

Can someone enlighten me on what to wear and bring? I know to bring lab coat, glasses + goggles; but how do I dress?

If this internship is in the industry, you have to wear whatever you wear for an interview, this is important especially for the first day or even first week because you'll probably be introduced to some important people.
If this in an academic research facility, it doesn't matter, unless you're planning to do phD later with the same people and you want to impress them, and contrary to what some people say, you have to dress to impress even if you're a chemist or technician.

I have worked in both academia and the industry and tell you this from experience. The company I work for now, every one comes wearing suits and hair done, etc,. why? because the company is constantly audited by FDA, TUV, etc and customers come to examine facilities, so if you come dressed like you were just having breakfast at home, it will look bad in front of the customer.

Good Luck!

[408]

Dress for who you want to be, not who you are.

[eazye1334]

In my first position as a process engineer, I arrived the first day in a suit and tie because I did not know what dress code was expected of me. The very next day I wore jeans as that matched the expected dress code. For my latest position as a chemical engineer, I actually asked when I signed on what the dress code was so that I would be prepared. In that case, I came dressed down the first day as that is what the president actually suggested.

So, the short answer for me is dress up until you know for sure. Make it a point to ask the first day what kind of dress is expected, and ask it in the sense that your want to know so you can stock up your wardrobe appropriately.

There is such a thing as overdressing and this relates directly to your job function. I know I wouldn't be able to do my job on a regular basis in a button-down shirt and tie, and obviously no place would be happy with you dressing to the detriment of your job. That said, it doesn't hurt once in a while to dress up more on days when you're certain it will not interfere (meeting days especially).