What does chief bottle washer mean?

Answer:
It's generally used to mean an entry-level job in a scientific field. The first job someone gets after receiving a bachelor's degree in chemistry or biology will typically be fairly menial and/or repetitive (titrations, assays, "wrong end of the rat," or, possibly, even cleaning glassware).
First answer by Ptorquemada. Last edit by Ptorquemada. Contributor trust: 553 [recommend contributor recommended]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].