"Something Deeply Wrong with Chemistry"

On July 23 2010 04:54 Badjas wrote:
Maybe I had some wrong turns (mostly saying 'no' to being famous and 'yes' to having two legs) but it didn't guess 'The letter A', although it does know of such an answer.

Update 4: A transcribed letter from Robert Tjian

From now on, I or someone designated by me will take attendance at group meetings starting at 9:10 am. If you are not there, I will not sign your salary sheets. Also, if you haven’t noticed the number of people working on weekends and nights in the lab is the worst I’ve seen in my 17 years. The frequency of vacation, time taken off and other non-lab activities is bordering on the ridiculous. In case you forgot, the standard amount of time you are supposed to take is 2 weeks a year total, including Christmas. If there isn’t a substantial improvement in the next few months, I’ll have to think of some draconian measures to “motivate” you. I also want to say that the average lab citizenship and community spirit of keeping the lab in functioning order is at an all-time low. Few people seem to care about fixing broken equipment and making sure things in the lab run smoothly. If the lab were extremely productive and everyone was totally focused on their work, I might understand the slovenliness but productivity is abysmal and if we continue along this path we will surely reach mediocrity in no time.

Finally, those of you who are “lame ducks” because you have a job and are thinking of your own nibs, so long as you are here you are still full-fledged members of this lab, which means participating in all aspects of the lab (i.e. group meetings, Asilomar, postdoc seminars, etc.)

I realize that this memo won’t solve all the problems. so I am going to schedule a meeting with each one of you starting this Saturday and Sunday and continuing on weekends until I’ve had a chance to speak with everyone and to give you a formal evaluation. Sign up for an appointment time on the sheet outside my door.

This is the first time I’ve had to actually write a memo of this type and I hope
it’s the last time.

Robert Tjian

On July 23 2010 04:58 Hier wrote:


Lol
Wrong thread?

More on topic. Although dated, that is what private companies will expect of you, unfortunately. It is business, and business is all about competition. Working for either industry, government, or academia has its advantages and disadvantages covering the entire spectrum; they are very different. This is an example of a disadvantage of working for a private employer.

On July 23 2010 04:59 orgolove wrote:



Err, this is what most academia expects of you. The professor who wrote OP's letter is just trying to save some skin by claiming it was a joke. I do not doubt for one second that at the time the letter was written, it was a serious threat.

On July 23 2010 05:13 bITt.mAN wrote:
How dare anyone judge the letter picture in the OP and even attempt to apply it to anything IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.

From the website:


Note the date, July 27. That means school is out in CalTech, thus we can deduce that this is a very intense and heavy-handed professor leading an elite summer-work schedule that students volunteered and signed up for. Have any of you aver been to CalTech in the summer? Let me assure you, its not empty.

There they actually know what diligence and working hard really means.

On July 23 2010 05:00 Arrian wrote:
It's much worse in the hard sciences than pretty much anywhere else as I understand it. Tough stuff.