We're all full of shit!

It's funny that no matter how many times I think about it, it still seems odd to think that I have a PhD in chemistry. I'm not saying this to brag or anything, because most of the people who read this are likely friends of mine from grad school and they also have or will have graduate degrees. So for me having a PhD almost seems the norm, everyone I'm surrounded by tends to have a higher education, and seeing how dumb we can be at times, it scares me to think that the public considers us to be smart!

And that may be why in some ways I feel as though I don't deserve a PhD. Seriously what the hell do I know? Sure, I know a lot about what I worked on in my grad degree (or at least let's claim that I do since admitting otherwise would invalidate years of my life) but beyond that what do I know? Well I know how to look as though I know what I'm talking about. I can have a conversation with anyone, on any topic, quite possibly in any language, and make them believe that I know what the hell we are talking about. So I guess the thing that I did learn was to have a good poker face.

I mean all along the process of my graduate studies I figured at some point in time people would realize what kind of an idiot I was and kick me out. But it didn't happen. Even after the oral candidacy exam (several hours of being grilled on everything you know about chemistry, maybe that's why it only took me 2 hours, I don't know much) that was virtually their last chance to call my bluff, but they didn't. Not even when they had my thesis in hand, 200+ pages of drivel that I had presented to them, they still let me go. Listen to me people, the system has failed, there are no real checks in place to keep the idiots out!

But I think I understand it a lot better now, there was something my old boss told me, that the candidacy exam was looking to see if you qualified as a peer to these people. So wait a minute, if I'm full of shit, and they consider me their peer, they must be full of shit as well!

That's it, the whole system is full of BS. Nobody really knows it all, and feel free to call BS on anyone who claims otherwise. I'm personally proud of my ability to BS in my chosen field, I really do it quite well, hopefully you enjoy it in yours. So the key here people is to remember that no matter what degree they have, the people you are dealing with are likely full of shit, some more than others, be wary of those ones, they're likely to get some of it on you. So for the students about to enter the real world or move onto something different, don't worry if you don't think you know what you're doing, nobody really does right away, we just BS it for a while until we feel comfortable with it.

And to any present and/or future employers, please disregard the above statements. I certainly know what I'm talking about and have a firm grasp on all aspects of my work. And I am most certain that, even though I haven't meet you, you too are well above all the shit that others are full of.