I love being a chemist. I’ve been out in the field for about a year now and everywhere I’ve worked, I just show up whenever I want and always dress casual. If other jobs are like mine have been, I don’t know why people complain.
Quick synopsis of what I’ve been up to:
Jan to Mar 2003: unemployed.
Comments: Woulda been more fun if only I’d had some money… Apr to July 2003: chemical inventory for two large pharmaceutical companies.
Normal work day: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm, ± 3hrs depending on personal whim
Comments: Don’t exactly understand why a BS was necessary for it, as long as you can use a computer and can read you’re pretty much good to go… Aug 2003 to Feb 2004: performed all method development, dissolution testing, stability studies, and HPLC assays for a small start-up company.
Normal work day: Mon-Thurs 9:30am-4:30pm, ± 3hrs depending on necessity and/or personal whim
Comments: When I first started there were about 15 people in the analytical dept. By the end of November, it was just me running the place. One of the greatest experiences of my life so far, but alas all good things… Mar 2004: just started a new research position purifying and conjugating peptides.
Normal work day: Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm, ± 2hrs depending on necessity
Comments: Still in transition, so I feel ever so slightly in-over-my-head. Hopefully it’ll get easier, or maybe I’ll at least be able to distinguish between superfluous and significant information.
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