Chromatography Forum

My curiosity regarding the chemistry career path continues.
What is the Best, Worst, and Weirdest career advice you have received?

Best: When I was 12 years old, a family friend (professional artist) told me to make sure I got a “day jobâ€

I certainly can't match the monkeys for weirdness. Best advice went something like: "The secret to happiness is to find something you enjoy doing . . . and then finagle a way to get paid for doing it!"

It's worked for me (so far!).

find something you enjoy doing . . . and then finagle a way to get paid for doing it!"

That is exactly what I am hoping for!

I am building theory in my mind that to be "top dog" in your career you need 3 things (nessesary but not sufficient):
1. Natural Aptitude
2. Drive/ Desire
3. Endurance for Education

2 of 3 just wont cut it...
1 + 2: can be cut short because the person hates school.
2 + 3: can hit a ceiling because it doesn't come naturally.
1 + 3: may never put the time into advancement.

It can be really funny/sad depending how you look at it:

The world is full of examples of 1+2, the classic genius who can't deal with authority so they never leave the small pond. So they wait tables instead of doing rocket science.

There are a lot of people in my husband's field (Computer Programming) that have 2 + 3... They really want to be a programmer ($$$) but they just don't have the equipment to think for a living.

1 + 3 makes me sad, since so many people wish they had a great talent... it kills me to see someone waste it on "good enough" jobs.

I guess I'm currently in the position to see if I have all 3 for Chemistry. Ir's funny, I wasn't a fan of Chemistry in School, so I sort of "wrote it off" as a career path. But now that I am doing it on the job I am really interested. Is it possible I could like graduate chemistry more than undergrad? Seeing it in action makes it so much more fun.

The two best pieces of career advice:

You cannot soar with eagles if you work with turkeys (which is probably why should never work with monkeys).

Dragons in shallow water are the laughing stock of shrimps.

Peter

If your boss is getting you down, look at him through the prongs of a fork and imagine him in jail.

There's no 'I' in 'team'. But then there's no 'I' in 'useless smug colleague', either. And there's four in 'platitude-quoting idiot'. Go figure.

Know your limitations and be content with them. Too much ambition results in promotion to a job you can't do.

and finally

You don't have to be mad to work here, in fact we ask you to complete a medical questionnaire to ensure that you are not.

Dragons in shallow water are the laughing stock of shrimps. Peter

Peter, This is quite profound. I think I am going to forward that to a few people. Do you have any more poetry we should know about?

Seriously, its so true... But what is the solution? If the dragon is despised by the shrimp for simply being a dragon... what can he do? The obvious answer is to go to the land of Dragons, but if they see him as a shrimp, what then?

There's no 'I' in 'team'...

I saw a button along these lines it said: "There's no "I" in team... Kind of like there's no "A" in physics"

And if you have a cynical turn of mind (which I do), you might appreciate many of these:
http://www.despair.com/viewall.html

Dragons in shallow water are the laughing stock of shrimps. Peter

Peter, This is quite profound. I think I am going to forward that to a few people. Do you have any more poetry we should know about?

Seriously, its so true... But what is the solution? If the dragon is despised by the shrimp for simply being a dragon... what can he do? The obvious answer is to go to the land of Dragons, but if they see him as a shrimp, what then?

Well, if the Dragon is Dragon indeed, then he/she shouldn't bother wether he/she will be accepted from the Dragons in the Dragon Land. Every new member of a group, team or population must "pass" the evaluation period in order to confirm his/her quality and affiliality. Anyway, this "self defining" procedure is rather long and difficult process for the Dragon, but he/she must pass it if he/she likes to find his/her real personal definition.

So, I would say, Go Dragon, and find your real challenge for you. Leave behind the shrimps to live in their misery.

Best regards

There's no 'I' in 'team'.

But there is a "me". Also "meat" which is how you feel on some "teams".

The dragons line is ultimately from Confucius I think. An alternative version is on Billy Joel's Piano Man; "I Know that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place".

In a similar vein, in the UK during the first world war there was a series of postcards featuring the classic British foot soldier. In one of them two infantry men are sheltering in a cold muddy shell hole, and one of them is evidently bemoaning his lot because his companion says to him, "If you know of a better 'ole, then go to it !"

Peter

Laughing shrimp often become kabobs.

Best Fortune Cookie:

"A routine task will turn into enchanting adventure."

The truest one ever. I got it shortly before a trip to Costa Rica before a production run which failed, and we finally figured out the problem a few months later after some more laboratory investigation (which should've been done two years prior, but certain other people were in charge).

And if you have a cynical turn of mind (which I do), you might appreciate many of these:
http://www.despair.com/viewall.html

Tom, I have seen the pearl one before, but I didn't know where they came from. Thanks for the link, they're hillarious.

From a little old lady to my mother one day (me in hearing range):
"If he's not very clever, he could always get a job where he works with his hands..."

From a musical big-wig at the university I attended a few years later:
"You will never go far, your hands are no good..."

OK, OK, I get the message.