Like nearly all chemists practicing today, I was hatched from a university chemistry department and tossed into the big, big world.  Like most Ph.D. hatchlings, I had developed a bit of a swagger. I somehow managed to get into and survive a good research group with more than a third of my sanity and ego intact. Part of the real value of an advanced degree is the fact that you have survived a very elaborate ordeal and gotten across the finish line. Yes, I was able to drag my battered remains across the finish line with my remaining good arm. 

University training doesn’t exactly prepare you for all of the outrages challenges that lie in waiting for you.  And, it really can’t do that.  University training does give a basic skill set from which you can build upon.  Which brings me to the point of this little epistle.  What you’ll find when you get into the world is that there are many more really smart people walking around that you might have considered.  Not all of the smart people actually matriculated and studied chemistry.

One of the smartest people I know is an electrician friend.  I worked for him for a while during some hard times and he actually tolerated my presence with grace, useless though I might have been at bending pipe and pulling wire. He has this uncanny ability to get things done.  This is an attribute that is absolutely golden.  Crimony, I nearly killed him one day when the backhoe I was operating swung out of control when some frozen ground gave way suddenly, causing an unplanned control input.  The bucket swung over and stopped short right at his chest.  He didn’t bat an eye.

He once pointed out that you have to expect to take a lot of hits. The goal was to minimize the number of hits you take below the waterline. 

It’s good advice and I’ve never forgotten it.