Exam results

Hello folks,

Well, it’s that time of year. After 3 weeks of unremitting tedium following the end of exam season, my final results for my degree are now in. Happily, I got a 1st overall, which I’m obviously very pleased with; what was particularly pleasing was that the breakdown of marks for the final exam modules I sat, which are as follows:

• Stereoselective and Asymmetric Synthesis = 75%
• Atmospheric Chemistry = 85%
• Bodily Functions: The Inorganic Workings of the Body = 83%
• Oscillations and Waves in Chemical Biology = 75%

In each case, I scored the highest mark out of anyone sitting that exam (as in the case of all the January exams, with the exception of the Chemical Biology module), which was mystifying in the case of the Atmospheric Chemistry exam (which I thought I’d struggled with) and extremely gratifying in the case of the Asymmetric Synthesis module (as this module is frequently held up as the most difficult module in the entire department, for any year; it was also a very interesting and challenging module as well, though, which makes me doubly proud to have done well in this module.)

However, lest anyone think that I’m just blowing sunshine up my own nether regions, there were a couple of downers to contend with; firstly, my mark for the research project portion of the course was pretty lamentable (57%; a pass, yes, but a far from convincing one) which, for someone keen to pursue a career in chemistry research (though still undecided on whether to go into academia or industry), is a slight concern (that said, I think that the bloke who won the Med Chem prize only scored 4 marks more than me for the research project, which is somewhat reassuring.)

More concerning than that, though (after all, I’ll get over that mark for the project, and no-one will see it on my CV!), is just the continuing difficulties I’m having in resolving my future plans (while most of the people in my year seem to be sorted); it remains my fervent desire to do a PhD, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get the type of project I want at this late stage. As a result, I’ve been looking to get hold of some work for 12 months before going through the application process again in the next academic year; one or two positions have looked particularly appealing (one is a 12 month Organic Synthesis position at GSK in Verona, while there is another similar job going at Novartis in Basle/Basel/Barrrl.) The only problem is that I applied for these jobs not long after finishing my exams (ca. 3 weeks ago) and, to paraphrase Football Weekly’s James Richardson, “Like resting actors, it’s the waiting I can’t stand.”

Anyway, as ever, I’ll keep you posted on any news I get regarding those jobs, or if there’s any last minute developments on the PhD front.

Ciao for now,
Il Prof

(P.S. On the Blogspot site, I’ve finally got round to adding a Blog Rollcall; it only has 4 links at the moment, but if someone has a link they want me to post up on the site, just let me know.)