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Topic: Self doubts  (Read 2795 times)

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Offline insertwittyname

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Self doubts
« on: February 03, 2016, 02:06:07 PM »
SO, I'm a final year Chemistry undergrad student at a university in India, and I want to really pursue research (preferably in Organic chem). I've been a part of two small research projects during my undergrad. The trouble is, I've never really gotten very good marks, and I sometimes doubt if I'd make a good researcher or not, simply because I have a tendency of forgetting things like reaction mechanisms or names of the reactions studied in previous semesters. This obviously is a hindrance if their application is required to a current topic. How do I decide if I really should go for research or take some other path?
Anybody else who was in a similar situation, how did you cope with things and what are you doing these days?
Thanks a  lot for your *delete me*

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Self doubts
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2016, 07:45:12 PM »
Sigh. No one but you, or perhaps some faculty who know you well, can really define how "good" you are as a scientist.  On the one one hand, passion for facts, and keeping general knowledge at your fingertips is a worthy state to be in. That's one thing I'm known for. On the other hand, facts are easily Googleable on anyone's smartphone, so my claim to fame is almost superfluous. 

There's also a dedication to the scientific method.  You have to not want to do or say anything, until you've checked and re-checked it for bias or error.  That'[s something that comes from being a scientist.  Still, you meet people in academia and industry who are often very dogmatic.

There's attention to detail, focusing at the work at hand, avoiding distractions and always working to improve:  your knowledge, your memory, your understand of the entire process.  Maybe that's being a scientist.  Maybe that's being a grownup.  I don't know.

But like I said, you encounter people who run the gamut of low to high ability in academia and industry.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

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