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Chemistry is a good job for INTP:s?

polydnavirus

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Any experience in chemistry related jobs?
Like laboratory technician/analyst etc?:confused:

How would it fit in INTP profile?

Chemical engineering is propably not a very good idea?
 

inquiringF

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Laboratory technician are typically the people whom are assigned to perform basic routine tasks that are repetitive. It's like preparing a coffee for your boss and tidying his desk in the science field.
 

Decaf

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Being a Lab Tech is mindless work that has to remain meticulous despite its repetition. You also need to be good at keeping up a notebook so someone can take over your work when you're done. I'm terrible at these things, so its not a good job for me. The research end can be more interesting because at least the results of your tests and the specific procedures of your experiments change over time.

There isn't a perfect job out there, and right now there's no jobs out there, but chemistry definitely gives you some opportunities. Where are you at in the decision making process?
 

polydnavirus

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Being a Lab Tech is mindless work that has to remain meticulous despite its repetition. You also need to be good at keeping up a notebook so someone can take over your work when you're done. I'm terrible at these things, so its not a good job for me. The research end can be more interesting because at least the results of your tests and the specific procedures of your experiments change over time.

There isn't a perfect job out there, and right now there's no jobs out there, but chemistry definitely gives you some opportunities. Where are you at in the decision making process?

I'm waiting to see what school I can get into. My problem is that I'm mediocre at best in mathematics so I'm propably not going to get to the best schools.
But I know for certain my job has to be in a field of science, I don't think I want to do anything else.
 

FF

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Are you interested in Bioengineering? Since you say you are mediocre at math, I believe Bioengineering doesn't really require much mathematics skills (although still some) and to me, it seems a lot less routine than chemistry. Always researching something different.

As for myself, I'm studying Computer Systems Engineering and I love it! Well, except for the calculus courses I have to take. But those are just weed-out classes, and I won't need calculus in my profession, really.

All in all, I would choose any kind of engineering major, if I were you. You get to use your reason and logical thinking, and engineering jobs aren't routine at all. Always working on something different...you should really look into it. If you want, I could compile a list of top engineering schools for you.
 

dwags222

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if you want to go into sciences try to get into theory rather than research. i'm not really sure there is much theory left to do in chemistry though??? (i'm not a big chemistry guy)
 

Perseus

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Perseus

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A chemist is on the list, low down on preferences. Laboratory technician is for the Dogs (ISTJ).
 

Perseus

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del

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I'd recommend something interdisciplinary and theory oriented, because I think INTPs are especially gifted in seeing connections across subjects and synthesizing them.
 

QSR

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Hmm if you really aren't good at math, that could limit things a bit in the engineering fields. I was going to suggest physics until you said you're not good at math. Perhaps you just haven't had good teachers? I think biology would be a good choice for you maybe. People in bio/chem majors always talk about organic chemistry being the tough nut (for EEs it was electromagnetic theory.)

I was never a big fan of chemistry for some reason. I always thought physics and biology were more interesting. Of course they're all basically related, though.
 

Reverse Transcriptase

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I'm an INTP in biochemistry and loving it. There is *some* math, but a lot of the work I do is very conceptual. We have Viral Protein 3, which *might* have a functional Nuclear Export signal (a series of repeated hydrophobic amino acids). To test whether VP3 has an NES we are going to fuse the VP3 gene with the gene for Green Fluorescent Protein. We'll dump the VP3-GFP hybrid into cells, and simply look to where the the little green dots clump. The end result will be something simple-looking like this, but has a lot of theory to understand behind it.

Also... it takes a fair amount of lab work to combine the VP3 & GFP genes. But you need good understanding of the science to make sure your procedures go correctly, and if you have problems with the procedures you can tweak them based on the theory and how your reagents vary from the average reagents.

CaMBP38GFP1.jpg

Here's a picture of a type of cell that has multiple nucleuses. Unrelated to my research, the research they're doing is just about cells with multiple nuclei... or something like that. I just grabbed a pretty picture.

Here's another great picture of a neuron expressing GFP.
http://www.greenspine.ca/media/mGFP_neuron2.jpg
 

QSR

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She Blinded me with SCIENCE!
On+stage+in+trenchcoat.jpg
 

polydnavirus

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I'm an INTP in biochemistry and loving it. There is *some* math, but a lot of the work I do is very conceptual. We have Viral Protein 3, which *might* have a functional Nuclear Export signal (a series of repeated hydrophobic amino acids). To test whether VP3 has an NES we are going to fuse the VP3 gene with the gene for Green Fluorescent Protein. We'll dump the VP3-GFP hybrid into cells, and simply look to where the the little green dots clump. The end result will be something simple-looking like this, but has a lot of theory to understand behind it.

Also... it takes a fair amount of lab work to combine the VP3 & GFP genes. But you need good understanding of the science to make sure your procedures go correctly, and if you have problems with the procedures you can tweak them based on the theory and how your reagents vary from the average reagents.

CaMBP38GFP1.jpg

Here's a picture of a type of cell that has multiple nucleuses. Unrelated to my research, the research they're doing is just about cells with multiple nuclei... or something like that. I just grabbed a pretty picture.

Here's another great picture of a neuron expressing GFP.
http://www.greenspine.ca/media/mGFP_neuron2.jpg

That certainly sounds interesting :)
 
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