Has anyone ever interned with this company in RTP? I have an interview in a couple of weeks for an analytical chemistry position and wanted to know some thoughts or experiences people had with them. They said the interview was probably going to last 3 hours, so what am I going to be doing for 3 hours!?

4/28/2006 1:44:23 PM

I have friends there who like it. seems like a cool place. I play in their football and basketball leagues, not that that has anything to do with anything

4/28/2006 1:53:53 PM

They rent some office space from my company for one of their off-site call centers.



Those people look BORED AS HELL.

4/28/2006 1:55:14 PM

Is this your first technical interview
if so, you better be prepared

just think of this, they will ask you a lot of technical stuff and will prbly make you do some chemistry related stuff to make sure you know what you are talking about

real world interviews for me can take up to 6 + hours and Im in sales
but this is big time shit i do

4/28/2006 1:56:43 PM

drtaylor might've interned there, but it wasn't for a lab position

4/28/2006 2:00:45 PM

Be prepared to work with a lot of Indians.

4/28/2006 3:08:33 PM

a friend of mine works full time in chemistry/analytical chemistry there, she said it's heavily technical and you may do a lot of stuff according to GLP and GMP practices.

Her interview wasn't entirely complicated, just talked about her past experiences interning, really it sounded like they were more concerned with your personality and how well you can learn things, than your technical ability.

I would brush up on your basic chemistry skills, especially stuff presented in CH 211/315, that deals with instrumentation and analytical methods.

4/28/2006 7:34:43 PM

Yeah, its my first technical inverview. They told me the machines I was going to use and I haven't used any of them before, so thats not good. I'm in 211 right now, so the analytical stuff is fresh. I guess I'll just google those instruments and learn at least something.

4/30/2006 12:32:01 PM

bttt

2/13/2008 11:48:52 AM

i was in the center for technology applications

i could talk about what i did, but then i'd have to kill you

most of it is either orbiting the planet or shooting/getting shot at somwhere

[Edited on February 13, 2008 at 1:31 PM. Reason : hard to say what it's like division to division, but i liked it a lot]

2/13/2008 1:28:54 PM

GLP/GCLP is a huge pita

2/13/2008 1:49:33 PM

Differs widely from group to group like drtaylor said (I've been with RTI for the past two years). Shoot me a PM if you want to know something specific.

2/13/2008 3:30:49 PM

I work there. I was a contractor and now I am a hire. What are your questions?

2/13/2008 7:54:01 PM

no thx
just quit there

[Edited on February 14, 2008 at 7:35 AM. Reason : lol]

2/14/2008 7:35:04 AM

Do any of you guys that work there know anyone in International Development, specifically Iraq programs? Ive been interested in working there for a while and would seriously consider it when I move back to the US.

2/14/2008 7:54:16 AM

Sorry, I work on the NSDUH.

2/14/2008 8:27:52 AM

Haven't worked for them, but am an analytical chemist, my interview was 8 solid hours so here are some basics you will want to know.

acid/base chemistry: what does the pka of a molecule mean
HPLC: Reverse phase separation, how this works
GC: what determines the separation of molecules
IR: how it works, why would you not use water as a solvent etc.
UV: Beer's law, know it by heart and be prepared to use
General Chem: Polarity of molecules

Be prepared for a lot of bs personality/situational questions too

2/14/2008 8:31:23 PM

I have a good friend who works there. He got his PhD while working and likes it pretty much...he says his projects come and go so there will be times when he is uber busy and a month or so when things are really slow.

2/14/2008 10:23:36 PM

guys, this thread was posted in 2006

2/14/2008 10:29:47 PM

I know this thread is mostly about chemists but if anyone else happens to check this thread b/c they are interviewing for another position.............. don't work in the animal facilities!!!!!!!!!

2/15/2008 8:51:41 AM

^ I never could understand why any one would want the job of cleaning up after the animals. It has to be the worst job ever.

2/15/2008 9:32:56 AM

^the company i used to work for leased some space out there and RTI made their Techs do stuff like that (clean cages, mop floors, etc.)...... the jobs poor recent grads with no experience have to take!
it just scared me b/c they did tox studies out there (some airborne).... and even though the place was full of leaks and in the spring the inside would be coated with pollen.... they ensured everyone that they could keep the air safe.

[Edited on February 15, 2008 at 10:02 AM. Reason : as]

2/15/2008 10:02:01 AM