Sunday, October 28, 2007

The apparent rise in the salaries of entry level chemistry graduates in the 2006 ACS Survey of Chemical Professionals

Part of this survey includes the starting salary of entry level students.  It seems that this figure was over 40k last year, whereas some year(s) ago (don't recall the exact year), this figure was closer to 30 k.

Could it be that the people who are earning higher wages are more enthusiastic about filling out these surveys?  They would know what exactly constitutes "higher" by referring to some of the past surveys, could this explain the apparent rise in the wages of entry level chemical professionals?
Posted by GCT at 12:36:03 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Grad school "Second Life - style " . Going to graduate school in New York while in Georgia.

This guy at my workplace is going to grad school in New York while working here in Georgia , the company pays for his tuition and he gets video lecture material all through the net , his major is in chemical engineering , and it seems that this mode of education is becoming a lot more common these days.  He takes his tests through a local center and is proctored by someone who is certified for the matter.  His degree is going to be standard, there's not going to be any indication of whether he had actually attended the university itself from which he is getting his degree.

But what a life, he goes to work during the day and studies at night.  One is earning money and on a way to getting a degree at the same time ; there's always the good aspect of learning and furthering the prospect of a higher income. 

Life is certainly good, however, going to work during the day and studying during the evening and perhaps even to the night pretty much means the exclusion of happy hour unless one is content with chugging a couple of beers alone at night right before bedtime.  It also means less time for a social life , but this is the sacrifice for the alternative situation of earning an actual graduate student salary which is virtually minimum wage.

Regardless, could there be such a degree for those who wish to obtain a Masters in Chemistry, if so .... count me in! 

Posted by GCT at 21:38:31 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Sunday, October 07, 2007

The not so ordinary properties of phosphate buffer

Part of an extraction procedure that's employed requires phosphate buffer as the solvent for one of the steps (extraction procedure is confidential).  Now, I never had problems with it before , and had been making it for several months until one day some clear crystals became prominent within the solution ; as in whole chunks of it.  The crystals resemble ice and appear about a day after the phosphate buffer is prepared in a large scale V shaped container.  Again, this had not occured during the first several months (~5 months).

The crystal may be a hydrate of the tribasic component, anhydrous phosphate is the white brittle substance that appears once it's solid form is placed in water, however the hydrate's solubility may be drastically altered with temperature as it is with sulfate.

Thus it may be the case that even a 1 to 2 degrees change in temperature over time would have precipitated out the hydrates.

Posted by GCT at 21:23:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |