I’m pretty sure this isn’t the right sub to post this on, but I didn’t know where else I could ask this, and I’ll happily delete it if so. However if that’s the case could you point me to the right place to post this?
Anyway I recently moved back to my home town, and going to be starting school in a few months. I’m looking for some part time work and the local vape shop I’ve been going to since I was 18 has a few openings, more interestingly they have an opening they offered me in their juice lab. They run a huge premium line which is sold all over and produce it all here in a state of the art lab, about 25 mins outside the city. It sounds like a great job to learn and honestly I think I’d have a blast. Do any of you guys have any professional experience working in juice labs? I’d love to hear some stories or experiences. Basically looking for justification to take that job and drive 25-30 mins to and from work every day vs taking one of their retail jobs at the store about 3 mins or less from my apartment.
TLDR; May have posted on the wrong sub if so let me know, have an offer to work for a vape shop either in their lab or retail store and would like some advice!
Hey, man!
I've been working in a juice lab for about 4 years now. One as a lab manager for a big eliquid company that I had to leave because I moved, and one in my new town as head of R&D that's a fairly small startup. I'm not sure if I can disclose which ones specifically due to NDA's though.
First thing I can tell you is, be prepared for the most monotonous work you could imagine. Twisting caps on all day, or checking to make sure bottle number 16,737 has a straight label. You have to be able to perform the same job over and over whole still maintaining a high level of quality control. Put on some music, a podcast, or a TV show, and just do whatever you're assigned to. Some people don't dig the monotony of it, but I find it relaxing in a way.
Second thing is (but more important than the first, probably), DO NOT fuck around with pure nicotine. Always wear protective gear if things are open. ESPECIALLY if they use 1000mg like my new place does. If you get some 100mg on you, you're gonna feel sick, and there's a chance you'll need to go to a hospital. If you get some 1000mg on you, you WILL be going to the hospital and you could die fairly easily from exposure to it. Nausea, rapid heartbeat, disorientation are common signs of exposure. Make sure you don't get any on your clothes or shoes where it can soak into your skin. And if you do wash it off immediately.
Also, be honest. If you mess something up, it happens. Profits on juice are pretty decent, so if I have to dump a 5 gallon of this or that to make sure customers get an accurate and consistent product, I would prefer to do that than bottle something that has been contaminated or has FA Strawberry in it instead of Strawberry (Ripe) or something. As far as fuck ups with nicotine go, DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. NICOTINE. A 3 should be a 3. If it's titrating as a 6, let someone know immediately. 0s should always be 0s. If a 3 titrates as a 3.5, that's acceptable. But if a 0 tests as anything else, the juice and the container are trash.
Also, change your gloves often. You'd be surprised how easy it is for a little VG to get onto your gloves that you don't see, then all of a sudden all the bottles are slippery and need to be wiped down before they're labeled. Also loops back in to not fucking with nicotine. Change them after you deal with nicotine in any capacity. You'll open the door outside of the lab with nicotine on your gloves, and the next person that opens it without gloves will be at risk of nicotine poisoning from whatever came off of your gloves.
All things considered, I love working in Juice Labs. It's laid back, and you get to learn some pretty neat things about chemistry and you get free juice from whatever is left over at the end of a run! Definitely worth the drive in my opinion.
Good luck to ya, I hope you enjoy it. If you have any specific questions, I'll answer them as best as I'm able to, based on my own experiences. Can't speak for anyone else or the industry as a whole, though.
No lab experience here, but I would say school should be your focus. If an hour commute is going to detract from your studies, I'd go with a closer job unless the pay difference is significant.
I won’t be starting school till the New Year, and currently looking for full time after I start then obviously just part time. Maybe take he lab job till then? My farthest work commute was about 15 minutes and I hated that with this being double idk if it’d be worth it as it’s no long term career.
First off, 30 minutes is a normal commute for many people. I’d say it’s average these days. Many people have significantly longer commutes. So really you need to ask yourself if you have any desire to make this a career or if the skills you learn at either one would be advantageous in whatever career you DO want. So if you want to work in any sort of production, medicine, or engineering I would go for the lab job. If you want to work in sales, hospitality, or want to be an entrepreneur I would go for the vape shop job. Just ask yourself which experience is going to help future you more.
Only caveat to all this is if you work with dickheads, any job is hell, and conversely working with good dudes can make any shit job a fun time. Pay attention to the atmosphere and your potential coworkers at any job. See if they look happy and relaxed and if the place is clean. This will be your second home so treat it as a potential rental and vet your environment.
This is just a 'job' to you, right? You're not looking to make this a career or anything?
I would definitely take the closer job. An hour a day commuting get old really fast. Plus the wear and tear on your car. Nah, not worth it. You might learn a few interesting things about how to mix liquid but I bet you learn other equally fascinating things working in the shop.
Yea it’s just a job, I was thinking it’d be cool to work there maybe make it temporary until I start school then switch to the retail shop right by my house? I don’t know I love mixing juice and I’d love to learn a little more from the professionals. But you’re absolutely right an hour commute would get old really quick, but if I knew it was temporary and I’d switch when I start school it could be worth it.
I guess the question is what kind of skills do you want to develop? Sales and customer service? Retail. The ability to do monotonous work consistently? Juice lab. Both have pros and cons, tho I think the time distance shouldn't be as big a factor for you.
I just left another city where I ran a company that had 3 territories and I had a staff of about 60 under me, so customer service skills can always be improved, but I’d say mine are pretty well honed, and I’ve always had a thing for anything chemistry related, but I already knowing I’d hate losing an hour of my day by driving to and from work.