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Where did you learn?

And for anyone without any formal training looking for some decent, readable (written in modern english, not simply medical jargon) textbooks to introduce them to the world of organic chemistry, neuroscience and pharmacology, I recommend:

Clayden, Greeves, Warren & Wothers (2000) Organic Chemistry.

Bear, Connors & Paradiso (2000) Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain.

Cooper, Bloom & Roth (2003) The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology.

Since they have been out for a while, you should be able to pick them up at a used book store or on Amazon under 'used.'
Thanks for the recommendations. I've begun 'Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain', and its a pretty easy read in terms of text books. I have the Neuropharmacology book ready and waiting,
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Thanks for the recommendations. I've begun 'Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain', and its a pretty easy read in terms of text books. I have the Neuropharmacology book ready and waiting,
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Have a few relevant books on Neuroscience and Also Chemistry which hopefully will help out some members. 4 Shared is a little clunky so I will keep updating with more books as time goes on.

http://www.4shared.com/folder/3FnGm_lT/Chemistry.html

http://www.4shared.com/folder/HgxxoNqT/Neuroscience.html

http://www.4shared.com/folder/nM4gT-vL/General_Synthesis.html

I also noticed in this thread someone chatting about the Hive. I was a great fan myself :)
 
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My formal education is mostly social studies.

I have a BA with a focus on political economy, sociology, and some biology.

I have a master's in teaching (social studies endorsement).
 
ADD lurker here.

I'm currently in med school and considering to specialise in neuropsychopharmacology (or the closest I can get to that).
 
me: PhD - Organic Synthesis (I did a 2-year post-doc with K.C. Nicolaou)

Since we have a lot of chemistry students here.. let me just give you a little advice:

You must get published as much as possible if you are going to get a job in Pharma. It is REALLY competitive these days, and only the guys that have PhD's with a Post-doc under a famous chemist can even get their foot in the door. There are a lot of chemists out of work right now, and pharma is laying people off left and right, what with overseas out-sourcing. I have met many a chemist that gets their degree, only to learn that they can't find a job doing what they want to do (synthesis/med-chem), and a lot of them just end up running HPLC QC for some manufacturing company, or they go into sales. It is sad and I feel sorry for them.

Universities are very poor about giving good advice to students in this regard. They will take your money and give you that fancy degree, but unless you take certain steps during your time in school, that degree is not going to do for you what you'd like. I wish you guys all the luck!

marz
 
marzipan93 said:
me: PhD - Organic Synthesis (I did a 2-year post-doc with K.C. Nicolaou)

Since we have a lot of chemistry students here.. let me just give you a little advice:

You must get published as much as possible if you are going to get a job in Pharma. It is REALLY competitive these days, and only the guys that have PhD's with a Post-doc under a famous chemist can even get their foot in the door. There are a lot of chemists out of work right now, and pharma is laying people off left and right, what with overseas out-sourcing. I have met many a chemist that gets their degree, only to learn that they can't find a job doing what they want to do (synthesis/med-chem), and a lot of them just end up running HPLC QC for some manufacturing company, or they go into sales. It is sad and I feel sorry for them.

Universities are very poor about giving good advice to students in this regard. They will take your money and give you that fancy degree, but unless you take certain steps during your time in school, that degree is not going to do for you what you'd like. I wish you guys all the luck!

marz
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This. I didn't graduate but I need 2 more chemistry classes to have a degree. When people ask what I planned on doing with it and how advanced that sounds and money... But the answer is nothing. I'd love a job in chemistry especially organic synthesis but I never did it for a job. I did it for the love of chemistry, I did it to see how deep it goes and how complicated a university can make it. I still want a job in chemistry that would be a dream but I went for personal advancement in a field that really interest me. None of my friends in college understood that I didn't go into this field for a job or money. Colleges push this idea but you'll never get a job because you went to college and got a degree you get one because you know people. Do not allow yourself to get lied to go into a field you love for a reason you don't understand.

When I do chemistry it's like the world fades away.
 
jinx8 said:
I have collect this information via internet, because internet is a one and only plate form to learn about any category. And we don't feel bore to use internet. I don't have any degree in medical.
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Have you seen the online courses available on http://www.coursera.org ? There are a few very interesting chemistry / medecine related ones becoming available and the way they are presented is excellent.
 
szuko000 said:
This. I didn't graduate but I need 2 more chemistry classes to have a degree. When people ask what I planned on doing with it and how advanced that sounds and money... But the answer is nothing. I'd love a job in chemistry especially organic synthesis but I never did it for a job. I did it for the love of chemistry, I did it to see how deep it goes and how complicated a university can make it. I still want a job in chemistry that would be a dream but I went for personal advancement in a field that really interest me. None of my friends in college understood that I didn't go into this field for a job or money. Colleges push this idea but you'll never get a job because you went to college and got a degree you get one because you know people. Do not allow yourself to get lied to go into a field you love for a reason you don't understand.

When I do chemistry it's like the world fades away.
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Now that is someone with passion! It's really great to see someone in grad studies who's in it for their love of the subject, that made my day :)

Edit: what do people think of me sticky-ing this thread and making it a big "where'd you learn/where are some good places to learn" thread?
 
I did high school and university intro chem, but honestly my best learning has been from non-linear research on the internet. When I don't understand something I look it up, and often it will contain more concepts that need researching, leading me back to the foundational learning. It's kind of like how wikipedia mentions big works and you can click on them to get the run-down.

I prefer learning on the internet a lot more than the linear learning of school.
 
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