I was recently on a search committee for a Chemistry Librarian at our University because part of the job was related to an area that I am quite knowledgeable about. But that area is not science. So many of our interview questions evoked responses that were at times incomprehensible to me. Happily, there were many other people involved in the process who were amply qualified to judge the chemistry knowledge of the candidates.
What I learned from the experience? Chemistry is hard.
That is actually really fascinating. I had no idea that process was even a thing but now that I think about it of course it is! Does that approach to analysis ever carry over to other part of your life?
This might sound excessively cliché but I t's so interesting how much there is to learn about the world and how wildly different the knowledge for specialization can be without ever crossover. Of course there is always room to meet in the intersections but I mean- I've spent a great many years now learning about policy and culture- never have I ever been required to dabble in chemistry or learn even a single thing about it (outside of high school, that is). It's easy to forget, despite deep specialization, how little other information we are accessing!
I keep thinking of that diagram from the PHD chronicles. Lemme see if I can dig it up.
Ahh thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question!! I love hearing about where chemistry degrees can lead, especially as I just got accepted to do a masters in chemistry from my dream university which I'm very excited about! Your job sounds fascinating, in particular coming up with methods designed specifically for the compound you're analyzing, especially considering you're designing that method around a compound you don't know the structure of... Still haven't fully mastered NMR graphs myself so I'm not sure analytical chemistry is the area I'm going to head into, but as you said there are so many areas is probably hard to guess where I'll end up! Thanks again for answering :)
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What I learned from the experience? Chemistry is hard.
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This might sound excessively cliché but I t's so interesting how much there is to learn about the world and how wildly different the knowledge for specialization can be without ever crossover. Of course there is always room to meet in the intersections but I mean- I've spent a great many years now learning about policy and culture- never have I ever been required to dabble in chemistry or learn even a single thing about it (outside of high school, that is). It's easy to forget, despite deep specialization, how little other information we are accessing!
I keep thinking of that diagram from the PHD chronicles. Lemme see if I can dig it up.
Reply
I love hearing about where chemistry degrees can lead, especially as I just got accepted to do a masters in chemistry from my dream university which I'm very excited about! Your job sounds fascinating, in particular coming up with methods designed specifically for the compound you're analyzing, especially considering you're designing that method around a compound you don't know the structure of...
Still haven't fully mastered NMR graphs myself so I'm not sure analytical chemistry is the area I'm going to head into, but as you said there are so many areas is probably hard to guess where I'll end up! Thanks again for answering :)
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