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A typical day

Start by reading yesterday's plates and cultures, because microbes work on their own schedule. Set up today's tests, log everything, and keep your bench clean enough that nothing from the air gets into your samples. Afternoons go to analysis, writing up results and a lot of waiting: incubation takes the time it takes. In a hospital lab, urgent samples cut across all of it. In research, most of your week is failed experiments and you learn to be fine with that.