tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post2617619111175413353..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: It's the same everywhereChemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-67930838354423298762013-10-02T13:53:11.087-04:002013-10-02T13:53:11.087-04:00Toxic political correctness aside, Chinese student...Toxic political correctness aside, Chinese students do this all the time. Not just Chinese, but Chinese colleagues were the majority in my lab so that's where I can anecdotally speak to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-78239513842081771452013-09-30T08:18:17.129-04:002013-09-30T08:18:17.129-04:00somedude: I think maybe, just maybe, your friend w...somedude: I think maybe, just maybe, your friend was exaggerating. There is a nugget of truth there, however: You have to plan your experiments much more than in academia...and fill out the forms to prove to your manager that you have done so. Most of the people in big-time industrial R&D I know go through similar safety training and hazard reviews. In fact, theirs seems a bit more stringent. Small firms are maybe a little more loosy-goosy (or "less bureaucratic"), but even they have to contend with OSHA and EPA regs. Academic labs, it seems, only get in trouble when someone dies. (Now I'm exaggerating.)<br /><br />Other anonymous: Chip on your shoulder? Did a federal scientist steal your lunch money when you were a kid?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-29171502334803990992013-09-30T07:16:33.888-04:002013-09-30T07:16:33.888-04:00I meant "The old saying...", of course.I meant "The old saying...", of course.DrFreddyhttp://syntheticremarks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-79431502005394980442013-09-30T07:14:40.645-04:002013-09-30T07:14:40.645-04:00In my humble experience, the main differences betw...In my humble experience, the main differences between academia and industry (big companies now) is that a) Safety is generally better in industry, b) Big companies have fancies labs and equipment, but sadly also, c) bureaucracy is several log units worse in industry and d) the average IQs of industrial chemists seem at least 20 units lower than for those (still) in academia. The only saying was: The brains are in the universities, the money is in the companies. Given the recent developments in the field, I fear both statements might need to be amended soon; and not for the better.DrFreddyhttp://syntheticremarks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-11044751081692183222013-09-29T16:56:17.810-04:002013-09-29T16:56:17.810-04:00uh, that's "extemporize here"uh, that's "extemporize here"Chemjobberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-86893326098710752952013-09-29T16:52:49.487-04:002013-09-29T16:52:49.487-04:00My friend who worked in a government lab says that...My friend who worked in a government lab says that to take a 10ml vial of toluene across the hall you need to undergo a safety training, fill out disclosure forms, submit MSDS, and still there's going to be someone throwing a hissy fit over it. According to him, the only way to get anything done is to collaborate with a university if you are lucky enough to have one nearby and do all synthesis there.somedudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-86471593305083445792013-09-29T16:46:31.591-04:002013-09-29T16:46:31.591-04:00I think he is trying to say that you are obviously...I think he is trying to say that you are obviously liberal and tolerant and totally above stereotyping and that is why it so breaks his heart when when you let people who don't embrace tell it the way they see it, and in such an unPC fashion too.somedudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-29746250353297131492013-09-29T16:35:19.235-04:002013-09-29T16:35:19.235-04:00Anon, I am curious as to what you "get",...Anon, I am curious as to what you "get", because I am not sure I want to contribute to the sadness. Feel to extemporize her, or e-mail me at chemjobber -at- gmail/dot/com. Confidentiality guaranteed. Chemjobberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-33007143818250470512013-09-29T11:58:52.064-04:002013-09-29T11:58:52.064-04:00The title of this post and the sentence: "Oh...The title of this post and the sentence: "Oh, and a large proportion of Chinese students who don't understand English and will tell you they understand everything you say, then break stuff. I really don't mind explaining something twice-I don't understand what their deal is."<br /><br />Are best read with the voice of Cletus Spuckler. <br /><br />CJ totally gets it, and that's what is so sad about occasional posts on this blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-29326405025019498312013-09-28T11:51:30.399-04:002013-09-28T11:51:30.399-04:00Yep, that sounds about right. I've seen all t...Yep, that sounds about right. I've seen all that and worse.somedudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-47957013328607265472013-09-27T11:24:36.872-04:002013-09-27T11:24:36.872-04:00Isn't academic science just government funded ...Isn't academic science just government funded science for the most part? The point is, if the gov't does fund the training of these temporary researchers and they are of poor quality, there is nothing stopping them from churning them out for decades. On top of that, haven't you just admitted that your gov't lab is now less safe and less efficient for hiring these people? And there is no way to shut down your lab if you do hire these "disasters" because it's a gov't lab with a budget, small but it's there and will probably be there for a long time...<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-85244794994607798662013-09-27T10:30:58.367-04:002013-09-27T10:30:58.367-04:00The biggest "disasters" at my gov't ...The biggest "disasters" at my gov't lab are due to folks coming from academia. They're here because our budget won't permit us to hire more staff--only temporary post-docs and "guest researchers," who tend to be grad students working for well-connected profs. They know nothing about lab safety. They are inconsiderate since they're just passing through. They work only if their names will be on a paper.<br /><br />Yes, this my my attempt at saying, "Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-9194199580703277622013-09-27T09:37:44.133-04:002013-09-27T09:37:44.133-04:00Wow, you're lucky. Your company will lay you ...Wow, you're lucky. Your company will lay you off for a few bucks! Most will do it for a few pennies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-44816589399825332972013-09-27T09:17:41.905-04:002013-09-27T09:17:41.905-04:00If you think the situation is different at the MIT...If you think the situation is different at the MITs and CalTechs of the world you're wrong. In my old lab group, I was seemingly the only one who would sign off on a particular instrument. Consequently, I'd always get the blame when someone else injected 100-1000 times the maximum allowable sample into the thing. And no, I wasn't responsible for the training; the PI had assigned one of my labmates to do it. And yes, if I had been approached, I would have gladly assisted with the training. It got so bad, that I just stopped using the instrument altogether. <br /><br />Other folks would drop syringe needles on the floor and never pick them up. Another guy was using a SINK as secondary containment for a base bath and yelled at me when I called him on it.The Iron Chemistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-81332932049178462182013-09-27T08:46:17.020-04:002013-09-27T08:46:17.020-04:00Wasn't there a saying in the old USSR, "A...Wasn't there a saying in the old USSR, "As long as the bosses pretend to pay us, we'll pretend to work,"? Many hard working people get laid off in favor of the better connected or cheaper workers. I might work hard out of personal pride, but I don't intend to work myself to death over a job that doesn't care about me (and who might lay me off at anytime to make a few extra bucks on the stock price).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-91322626033632439012013-09-27T02:34:40.010-04:002013-09-27T02:34:40.010-04:00Is it any coincidence that both of these situation...Is it any coincidence that both of these situations are primarily funded by government? Though institutions outside of government tend to face these same circumstances, they have the risk of going out of business like NMH mentioned. This is not really an option for government funded disasters. If there are inefficiencies, these institutions usually just say they are "underfunded" and increase their outlays at the same time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-24304067857329502862013-09-26T20:15:24.230-04:002013-09-26T20:15:24.230-04:00When I worked at a biotech start up I was shocked ...When I worked at a biotech start up I was shocked too see the number of people with advanced degrees doing next to nothing all day long, other than socializing. Sometimes I wonder if a benefit to off-shoring is that the cheaper labor spends more of the actually working instead of asking how there weekends were for 2 hours.<br /><br />The company inevitably failed, which was not much of a surprise, considering the work ethic there.NMHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-3537297981005573652013-09-26T20:13:56.370-04:002013-09-26T20:13:56.370-04:00It's like complaining about other people's...It's like complaining about other people's driving. Everyone's a Formula 1 driver on the internet. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-6675660100815988472013-09-26T18:10:27.266-04:002013-09-26T18:10:27.266-04:00I've seen this everywhere. It's quite ama...I've seen this everywhere. It's quite amazing actually. Sometimes I wonder how anything gets done anywhere and how it is that some of are still achieving anything. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-2791330198429057462013-09-26T16:03:32.494-04:002013-09-26T16:03:32.494-04:00That post strikes me as the typical egotistical &q...That post strikes me as the typical egotistical "Everyone is an idiot except me" type of complaint. Yes there is are bad eggs in every university with no regards of where you go. I learned long ago just because someone got into Harvard or MIT doesn't mean they're the best and just because someone could "only" get a PhD from a state university doesn't mean they can't be a very accomplished researcher. It's not where you go, it's what you put into it that counts. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-23320682416554120592013-09-26T15:57:47.457-04:002013-09-26T15:57:47.457-04:00I feel for you. I have been at 3 R1 U's betwee...I feel for you. I have been at 3 R1 U's between doc and postdoc. I've observed many groups beyond my own, and can say you are not alone. In fact everything you stated is just another day in an academic environment. Although you forgot to mention how labor laws completely fly out the window as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com